


You Can R’Lyeh on Me

by insomnia1999, Quarra



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain America Reverse Big Bang 2017, Captain America:TFA – almost canon compliant, Consentacles, Fanart, Happy Ending, Humor, Lovecraft references – not remotely canon compliant, M/M, No explicit tentacle sex, Other, Suicidal thoughts (briefly), TentacleGod!Bucky, Tentacles, The Avengers (Movie) - canon what's that?, dream space, sorry; Maybe next time, verging on crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-10 20:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11134029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insomnia1999/pseuds/insomnia1999, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quarra/pseuds/Quarra
Summary: When the Tesseract sends the Red Skull into space, something else comes through. Something eldritch and dire and – OK, maybe not that dire.A misunderstanding traps Tentacle God Bucky under the ice with Steve. Can they get past their differences and learn to get along? (Spoilers: Yes, yes they can.)Now Steve has someone to help him navigate the future and the Avengers will never be the same.Please note: This story is rated T for violence and language (because even as an Eldritch God Bucky swears a lot.) All tentacle sex is implied, not explicit.





	1. The Challenge from Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> This is my story for the Captain America RBB 2017. I was lucky enough to get [Quarra's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Quarra) fantastic art and wonderful prompt. 
> 
> Her prompt was:  
> The main idea for this was at the end of TFA when the Red Skull got sucked through the portal, an elder god came through too. Steve spends 70 years in the ice making friends with it; it may have affected his mental state. No one else knows about his tentacle god buddy. Must-haves: Good Guy Steve and a happy or at least neutral ending.  
> Would-likes: It would be funny if everyone passed off his weirdness as just something left over from the 40's that they don't understand. It would also be great if the tentacle god buddy helped Steve out from time to time. If the author would like, an end-of-story tentacle god saves the day thing would be hilarious.
> 
>    
> Thanks to the RBB mods for making all this possible, and Extra Special Thanks to [Cryo_Bucky](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryo_Bucky) for being a wonderful beta and to both Cryo and Quarra for all their encouragement while I was writing. Thanks guys! You are the best!! :Tentaclehearts: ~ <3 ~ <3 ~ <3
> 
> All chapter titles are works by H.P. Lovecraft

  


_“They lay in the vast unknown, the eternal black void, the space between stars-”_

No, no... that was stupid. Maybe... 

_“Between light and time, outside thought and purpose. Dark and dread eldritch dreams - the mere hint of which would drive mortal men mad - flowing through Their antediluvian perceptions.”_

That was better. 

_“Alone, in the eternal cold, Their immortal thoughts perpetually circling - dark and brooding, lost in the endless frozen void, in the hellish -”_

A flash of incandescent brightness suddenly illuminated the space around Them in a wave of power, fury, and sound, breaking Their train of thought. 

A small screaming figure slammed into one of Their many eyes and Their tentacles reflexively snatched it up. 

_**“!?/No/What?/No/What the hell?”**_

They raised the figure higher, a thousand, thousand bone-white eyes squinting in confusion. 

With vast effort, They dragged their awareness into the here-and-now. 

Someone had used a Stone of Great Power to fling something into Their face. 

They brought the figure closer. A humanoid. Four major limbs, a red face, mouth opened in a soundless scream. 

_“But why.... wait....”_

They knew this. This was familiar, but it had been long - long even for one such as They. 

They shook off the last of their lassitude as Knowledge echoed from the depths of their being. 

This must be a sacrifice! 

Someone had sent them a sacrifice. One that smelled of that long lost Earthly Empire. 

A pleased _‘hmmmm’_ thrummed through Their being. 

They had thought Themselves forgotten. Cast off in the face of the new gods, driven to the void, the Earth off limits for all of time. Forbidden to contact the Younger races unless They were contacted first. 

But this! This changed everything. 

They did not know what demand would be made, or what would be asked in exchange, but right now They did not care. Any diversion was welcome, no matter how brief. 

Without waiting, without conditions They quickly swallowed the offering, its small screaming red face merging within, there to digest for a thousand years. 

_**“Delicious...”**_ If They could smile, They would. 

They reached through the opening in Space, waiting for the forthcoming demand. They remembered well the wishes of the Younger races. Power, wealth, dominion over their peers. In all the eons of endless dreaming Their roving thoughts had shown Them that this had remained unchanged. 

Time stretched. The portal was already beginning to close, it’s visible effect already gone. 

They could feel the Stone of Power sinking into the sea. 

Soon its deep waters, through which not even thought could pass, would cut off their chance. 

A wave of irritation roiled Their many arms. 

The sacrifice had been accepted! A demand must be made! To be beholden to an unknown being was unthinkable. 

They cautiously extended their awareness, down through the window created by the Stone. 

A lone being was seated in some sort of flying craft. Speaking not to the One he had summoned but to someone unseen. 

They reached out their thoughts to understand what was being said. 

“There’s not gonna be a safe landing, but I can try and force it down.” 

“I’ll-I’ll get Howard on the line. He’ll know what to do,” the unseen voice answered. 

Well, this was confusing. 

Obviously the Younger races had advanced in the intervening eons. But they must have remembered enough of the Old Ways. 

Here, closer to the source They could see why the Stone had reached out to them. Their symbol, the five-pointed star, etched not on slick green stone but on something far rarer. The Elder Sign, for all that the concentric eye was painted around it, not in it. 

They felt a wave of pride. Not forgotten after all! 

And here, Their disciple, calling on them in his hour of need; sending a sacrifice across the vast reaches of space. 

They waited for the order, for the tiny human to demand that his life be saved. 

“....I gotta put her in the water.” 

“Please don’t do this. W-we have time. We can work it out.” 

“Right now I’m in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice.” 

What was taking so long? The window was closing and the ground was rushing ever closer. 

“Peggy...” 

“I’m here, Steve.” 

“I’m gonna need a rain check on that dance.” 

Steve was going to need more than a rain check if he didn’t start asking for the help he’d summoned. 

“All right. A week next Saturday at _The Stork Club_.” 

“You’ve got it.” 

“Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late. Understood?” 

“You know, I still don’t know how to dance.” 

“I’ll show you how. Just be there.” 

“We’ll have the band play something slow. I’d hate to step on your...” 

The ground rushed up, and the aircraft slammed into it, Steve crashing into walls, the floor. 

Had they been summoned just to witness this mortal die? What was the purpose in that? But it must be so... 

The window between the stars was almost closed. 

They watched the human dispassionately as the craft began to fill with water. 

And then They heard it. 

_“Oh, God, I’m going to die. I don’t want to die alone.”_

At last! The demand, a desperate thought from the man on the ground. 

That was it? That was worth the sacrifice of a life? Instead of asking to be saved, they asked for this? How strange were these moral beings. 

Well, it was a simple enough demand. 

But the window was so small now. They had to leave, Forbidden to stay by rules imposed long ago. 

But there was a way. They had been Summoned after all. And if it were only temporary... 

They fractured off a small part of themselves. The smaller no less than the greater, still part of the Whole, but enough for independence as well. 

They set the rules carefully. 

The smaller self would stay here until this Steve person died. Then it would rejoin the Whole. 

They withdrew themselves, back to the silent void, just as the window closed, cutting off all thought, all connection. 

The small part left behind shuddered at the loss. But it would only be for a few moments. It had endured far longer alone between the stars. 

The water rose higher, cutting off all air. 

The human struggled but was still dazed from the crash. 

They wrapped themselves around them, their many invisible arms snug and tight. 

_“You can die now. You are not alone,”_ their thoughts whispered. 

They waited as the man stilled, body going stiff in the cold water, the sunlight fading as the craft sank. 

They waited. 

They waited some more. 

Steve’s thoughts were slowing, drifting, but he wasn’t dying. 

_He wasn’t dying!_

A wave of horror broke over them as they realized what was happening. 

Instead of dreaming in the space between stars they were going to be trapped dreaming at the bottom of some nameless sea. 

Only this time, they weren’t going to be alone. 

  
  



	2. The Trap

  


Steve knew this was it. The End. 

He answered Peggy absently. He could probably have tried harder to find a way out, but what was the point? 

He was sorry Peggy was sad, but he was so, so ready to be done with it all; done with the horrors of war, done with Captain America, done with being a red, white and blue puppet. 

Then the crash, and pain, everything going dark. 

He heard a voice in his ear. It was the most beautiful voice he’d ever heard. The voice of an Angel, telling him it was all right to let go. 

He felt awareness returning and blinked his eyes open. 

Opened them onto a horror, a nightmare looming over him. 

He screamed and leaped to his feet, fists raised. 

The thing, the demon, reared back - a mass of glowing tentacles, writhing and shifting in and over and even _through_ itself. 

“Whoah, whoah, easy pal,” the demon’s words flashed into his mind. It waved its arms in his direction and the motion made his eyes hurt, a wave of nausea rolling through him. 

“Sorry, sorry,” the horror said. “I forgot you lower life forms have problems with – is this better?” 

The horror changed shape, the mass of tentacles and white glowing spheres coalescing into a beautiful man. A beautiful, blue skinned, naked man who had been flayed open and then frozen solid, ice falling from him in sheets, cold radiating off him in waves. The eyes turned to him, glassy and blank. He was holding his intestines in his hands. 

“No!” Steve barked. “How the hell is that supposed to be better?!” 

“Well, it’s been a long time, OK? This is the last Avatar I remember! Let me just-” 

The monster rippled again. Still gorgeous, but alive, warm and pink. With all his insides, well inside, Steve hoped. 

Steve tried really hard, but his gaze traveled up and down the demon’s body. If only he had a sketchbook... 

The demon smirked, and Steve wrenched his gaze back up to meet his eyes. 

They stared at each other, the tension getting thicker. 

Steve squared his shoulders. He knew when he’d decided to kill himself he’d probably end up in hell. He was ready for his eternal punishment. What was the demon waiting for? 

“This isn’t your version of hell and I’m not a demon, thanks,” the man said crossing his arms. “I’m a Greater God.” 

Steve narrowed his eyes. He could hear the capital letters in that statement. 

“There’s only one God,” Steve said flatly. “And I’m pretty sure you’re not it.” 

“Well, I’m pretty sure you’re wrong,” the creature said. He waved a hand over his body. _“Definitely_ a God.” 

“Just cause you gave yourself a pretty face doesn’t make you God,” Steve said. “A minute ago you looked like some sort of mutant octopus.” 

“Yeah, and you look like a hairless ape. Didn’t you used to be taller?” the demon – man – sneered. 

Steve looked down. 

No giant muscles. No stupid costume. He was wearing his favorite shirt and suspenders, ones he’d grown out of two years ago. 

Steve barked a laugh. He was himself again. Just short, skinny Steve Rogers. 

Well, that made sense, didn’t it? He was dead now. Of course his soul would look like his real self. 

“Not dead, either,” the man said, “but the soul part is true.” 

“Stop reading my mind,” Steve snapped. “It’s rude.” 

“Not a lot of choice here, pal, since were actually _in_ your mind,” the man snapped back. 

Steve looked around. They were standing in a featureless icy blue-white plain, black clouds moving on the horizon. 

This was all just a figment of his imagination? Of all the things he could have dreamed up in his dying moments, why a glowing tentacle monster turned beefcake? Well, it wasn’t the strangest dream he’d ever had... 

“I’m not part of your imagination! For the Unknown’s sake!” The man leaned forward and a brace of tentacles rose out of its back, thrashing in the air. 

“Wait, wait, calm down. If this isn’t my imagination, then what is all this?” Steve held his hands out in front of him. He did not need to see all those arms again. 

The man pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, sorry.” The tentacles withdrew. “It’s just - first you summon me here, then you ignore me, then you trap me inside your mind-” 

OK, there was a lot to unpack there. But really? Summoned? He was pretty sure he hadn’t summoned anything. Let alone whatever the hell this creature was. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake! You did so Summon me! Why deny it? You called upon a god. You were carrying the symbol of the Elder Houses. You used the Stone of Power to send me a sacrifice. Which I accepted! And instead of asking for something reasonable you trapped me here with you!” 

The creature started pacing in a circle. He was muttering to himself, but Steve could hear every word loud and clear. 

“Last time I take a sacrifice without knowing what’s what. Oh, sure it was tasty, but is it worth this? No, I don’t think so. I am _such_ an idiot. This, this is why there are rules. Never accept a sacrifice without a contract first. Never make a deal with the Lesser Races. I am so stupid-” 

“Hey, no, wait,” Steve said. “I think maybe there’s been some sort of misunderstanding here. Maybe we could figure it out?” 

The man huffed and spun around. Steve gritted his teeth and made sure to keep his eyes above the man’s waist. That earned him another smirk. 

“Could you maybe put some clothes on first?” Steve coughed. 

“Sure, whatever makes you happy,” the man purred. He waved his hand, and he was wearing a short, silk bathrobe kind of thing. It wasn’t much better. 

Steve sighed. He still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t his imagination. But he’d seen a _lot_ of strange things since he’d stepped into the Vita-Ray machine. 

Why don’t we start over,” Steve offered. “My name is Steve, Steve Rogers.” 

The man rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know. You can’t shield for crap. You’re projecting all over the place.” He sighed. “I, I have many names. Names dread and dark. But for myself, I am called -” 

Steve heard a sound, inside his brain. It felt like fingernails on a chalkboard. It sounded like B’gnuuthuuunnn, felt like the crack of frozen sails driven by an icy storm. It chilled him to the core as if he’d been caught outside naked in a blizzard. 

He fell to his knees, shivering. 

“Sorry! Sorry!” the man reached out a hand then pulled it back. “It’s been so long since I interacted with any of you Lesser beings.” 

Steve knew he never wanted to hear that name again. He tried to wrap his name around the sounds still echoing in his head. 

“How about I call you Bugsy?” His teeth were chattering so hard he thought they’d break. 

“Bugsy? Do I look like a Bug to you?” the man blinked. “Really?” 

The air suddenly felt a lot warmer. “OK, maybe not Bugsy. How about Bucky?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ve definitely had worse,” the man - Bucky muttered. 

Steve pushed himself up, the cold already fading from his bones. 

“OK then Bucky. If this isn’t something conjured by my dying brain, what is it?” 

_“OK,_ Steve, I’ll take this realllly slow,” Bucky sighed. His tone dripped condescension. 

Steve glared and Bucky raised a hand. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Bucky said. “All right, as far as I know, you Summoned me from where I was writ – I mean resting in the depths of space. For that to happen you first had to call on the gods and then offer a suitable sacrifice. Which you did! You threw an ugly red-faced man at me, hit me right smack in an eye-stalk. So I accepted your offering. He was delicious by the way – and then I came here through the Window to grant you a boon. Which I did. You’re _welcome.”_

Steve blew out a breath. The idea that this - being - had eaten Schmidt was less upsetting than it probably should be. 

“OK, you’re right,” Steve interrupted. “Johann Schmidt, The Red Skull, did say he thought he was a god, right before he grabbed the Tesseract. But it was an accident. He didn’t mean to get himself shot into space.” 

Bucky’s face went white. “An accident? Are you telling me this was all an accident? You’re wearing my symbol! You have it painted on the rarest metal in the Universe. Why would you do that if you didn’t want to Summon me? I thought you were one of my Priests! I thought-” 

“Hey, hey, breath, just breath,” Steve interrupted when it looked like Bucky was going into shell shock. “I’m sure it’s not that bad; just a little misunderstanding.” 

“Misunderstanding!? I split myself from the Whole! I diminished my Self just to grant your dying wish. Do you know how that feels? I mean in the past I didn’t have a choice... no, no, you know what? This is your fault! You asked not to be alone until you died. Which, fine. I get that. But you’re practically an Immortal! You aren’t going to die. Not from something as silly as a little freezing water! So what was the point of this!?” 

Now it was Steve’s turn to pale. “Immortal?” he croaked. “I’m immortal?” 

Bucky jerked back, shaking his head. “Of course you’re immortal! That’s the problem, isn’t it! I accepted your sacrifice and I agreed to stay with you until you died. But you’re not going to die, are you? Oh, no, that would be too easy. Instead, we are going to be trapped here, _together,_ at the bottom of your stupid little ocean on your insignificant little planet until you either die, wake up, or someone activates the Stone of Power again!” 

Steve gaped at him, and then stumbled back a step, shaking his head. He was immortal? It was the worst news he’d heard since Arnie had died. He’d smashed the plane intending to kill himself. If this was real- 

“OF COURSE THIS IS REAL!” Bucky shouted. “Of all the stupid, brainless humans I had to get stuck with...” 

Steve shook his head. If he just had some sort of proof... 

Bucky stalked toward Steve, teeth bared in a grimace. He looked every inch a vengeful god, you know, if he wasn’t wearing a bathrobe. 

“No, I’m done with this. I am a god. I was old before your planet was formed. We might be stuck here together, but there is no way I am going to waste any more time talking to some ignorant _amoeba_ like you. You stay on your half of this dream space and I’ll stay on mine.” 

Bucky slashed his arm through the air and a bright, white line bisected the ground at their feet. 

“Fine,” Steve gritted his teeth. 

“Great,” Bucky sneered. 

“Jerk,” Steve muttered. 

“Shoggoth,” Bucky glared, then spun on his heel. He strode away toward the horizon until he was out of sight. 

_‘Well, that could have gone better,’_ Steve thought. 

  
  



	3. Memory

  


Steve sighed. This was so nice it _had_ to be a dying dream. As if being confronted by a tentacle monster turned naked man hadn’t been evidence enough. 

“Steve, honey, do you want some more?” Mama placed her hand gently on his shoulder. 

“Sure Ma, if there’s enough,” Steve smiled up at his mother. She smiled as she picked up his bowl, heading back to the stove. 

“Of course there’s enough, Steve. There’s plenty,” Sarah said over her shoulder. 

And Steve was once again reminded this was all just a beautiful dream. The idea that there was enough stew for seconds, for thirds? That would never have happened in real life. This had to be a dream because his mother was dead. Had been dead for years now... 

His feet caught underneath him and he almost stumbled on the grass. He looked around wildly, but no one seemed to notice. 

“In sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life,” the priest droned on. 

Steve’s hands clenched into fists. The wind picked up, black clouds scudding closer. He frowned. The day of his Ma’s funeral had been sunny, hadn’t it? But the sky looked the way he’d felt that day. His grief stabbed at him, and an icy gust flared the priest’s vestments. 

He took a deep breath. This was just a dream. And if it was a dream, he could control it. 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. 

“Steve, honey, do you want some more?” 

A hand closed on his shoulder. It felt boney and cold. 

He was afraid to open his eyes. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~   


Bucky stormed off, his footsteps thundering through the dream space. He stopped and yelled at the ether, his hand balled into fists. 

He ran a hand through his hair and groaned. What the hell was he doing? Why the fuck did he still have _hands?_

They discarded the Avatar and slumped to the ground, their limbs roiling. 

They’d been so stupid. Thinking that someone, somewhere had remembered them. Had called to them, needed them. 

They should have known it was too good to be true. 

Steve was such a jerk. Couldn’t he see how hard they were trying? They had not only changed their form, but their entire language and lexicon just to make him more comfortable. 

Well, screw that guy. They had better things to do than worry about Steve Rogers. He could just rot for all they cared. 

They threw up a mental barrier along the line they’d drawn, cutting off even an echo of Steve’s thoughts. 

They groaned, eyes staring blankly into the gray void. It wasn’t as nice as the black of space, not nearly. Just so much empty gray... so dreary... 

A cold breeze snapped them out of their doze, and they waved their eye stalks up and around. 

Was it getting darker in here? Was the space suddenly bigger? How many days had it been? 

They levered themselves off the ground and slithered back towards Steve’s consciousness. 

The space that Steve took up here in their shared reality was definitely smaller, and darker too. 

_‘Oh, this was so not good.’_

Bucky found himself sliding back into the Avatar Steve had chosen for him. He had to admit, it was one of the prettiest Avatars he’d ever had. He’d pulled the image from Steve’s deepest, secret thoughts - hoping to make a connection. And a fat lot of good that did... 

He cautiously moved towards the wall he’d made, and gently reached out, searching for Steve’s consciousness. 

He jerked his hand back as if burned. 

_‘Shit, shit...’_

He’d fucked up. 

Poor Steve was spiraling, caught between dreams and nightmare, with no way to stop himself. And how could he? He’d never been in a dream space. Hell, the poor little guy hadn’t even known he was immortal. 

And instead of staying to help, Bucky had lost his temper and gone off to sulk. He was such an asshole. 

He needed to fix this before Steve lost himself entirely. But he’d vowed to stay on his side. He couldn’t just cross over; not without Steve’s permission. 

He needed to distract Steve. Get him out of his own head. 

He concentrated on the memories he’d seen earlier in Steve’s mind, and his lips curled in a smile. 

He weakened the wall he’d put up, just a fraction. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~   


Steve felt the ground under him give way, and he slid down into the ditch. Two soldiers were already there, crouched down, plastered to the side. Another lay dead at the bottom, rapidly sinking into the rising mud. Hydra weapons thundered on the field and a wash of blue vapor streaked overhead, yet another man vaporized. 

Steve knew this moment. He’d relived it often enough. In a moment Captain America would vault out of the mud, back into the fight. Rally the men, lead them into the jaws of death. 

He looked at his hands, so small on the shield. The uniform hung on his frame, threatening to swamp him. 

He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. Not again. 

He huddled next to the soldiers, who stared at him with blank eyes. He wished the mud would just swallow him, and he felt himself start to sink. 

A sound drifted over the battlefield, over the crash of thunder and the boom of the Hydra guns. 

Was that music? Here? 

_“Who vows to fight like a man for what’s right night and day?”_

What the hell? 

_“Who will campaign door-to-door for America, Carry the flag shore to shore for America?”_

The battlefield around him stilled, everything frozen in place. He looked up and could see that even the lightning was stopped in the sky. 

_“From Hoboken to Spokane, The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!”_

Steve leaped out of the ditch and onto the battlefield and walked towards the music. With every step he took the war faded and was replaced by a blank gray field. 

There was a red brick wall ahead of him, towering up into the sky and stretching from horizon to horizon. 

Steve took one step closer and somehow found himself right on top of the wall. There were small holes in the mortar between the bricks and the music was seeping out. 

_“Who’ll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin?”_

God, he _hated_ that song. He touched the wall cautiously, laying his hand flat against the cold bricks. 

Instantly a double door appeared in the wall. It was wooden, painted red with gold trim. Wait, he knew this door – it was the main door to the B.F. Keith Theater in D.C. 

He slowly pulled the door open. There was a glowing white line on the floor. It traveled through the lobby and under the doors to the house. 

He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten here, but this was definitely the Keith. The smell of popcorn, of dust, the horsehair seats. The lights were up on the stage, and there was Steve - in all his dancing monkey glory. 

He looked just as ridiculous in those stupid tights from this angle as he’d felt at the time. 

“CUT! Stop, just stop!” Oh, God, it was Murphy. The choreographer from hell. “Dammit Rogers, we open in a week!” 

The action on stage ground to a halt, the chorus girls groaning. Vera threw her hands up in the air and made a rude gesture at Steve’s back. 

Movement from the front of the house caught his eye. 

Bucky was sitting in the second row, on the aisle, feet propped on the seat in front of him, waving a hand at him. 

Steve walked down the aisle, careful to stay on his side of the line. 

“Heya, Stevie!” Bucky grinned, looking up at him. “Come to see the show?” 

  
  



	4. Beyond the Wall of Sleep

  


Steve sat down in the aisle seat across from Bucky. On stage, they were lining up to try again. Steve remembered this – Murphy had kept them past 10, trying to drill the steps into Steve’s head. Eventually, he’d given up, and they’d just worked on having Steve walk out and read his lines. 

Steve frowned up at the stage. This was all just a dream. And if it was a dream he could control it... 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. 

“Yeah, that’s not going to work,” Bucky drawled. “This isn’t your dream. This dream is _mine.”_

Steve gritted his teeth and concentrated harder, but he could hear the piano start up again, Murphy ordering everyone into place. 

He dragged his eyes open and focused on Bucky. 

“Yep, still here, sorry,” Bucky wiggled his fingers at him. 

Steve gave him a sour look. “This is _your_ dream? You’ve been to a lot of rehearsals for the Victory Bond tour then? I’ve heard Bob Hope’s are much better.” 

“I like this one,” Buck said, settling back into his seat. He angled his head toward Steve. “The big blond guy is _hilarious.”_

As if on cue, the Steve on stage stepped on Maddie’s foot. She stumbled back into Martha. It set off a chain reaction, chorus girls falling like dominoes. 

Bucky started laughing, his head thrown back, hand clutched to his stomach. 

Steve just stared at him. Bucky was dressed as if he belonged in the theater. Hair cut short and pomaded back, brown loafers that looked just shined, brown slacks, and a crisp white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to show muscular forearms. 

“This is the best show I’ve seen in the last thousand years,” Bucky gasped, laughter winding down. 

Steve crossed his arms and huffed. He remembered this all too well. He had been in his new body less than six weeks and he’d still been overthinking how to move, where his feet were. Even the ground had looked so much farther down, now that he was over a foot taller. It had almost felt like vertigo sometimes; as if he were looking down on the world from on top of a step ladder. 

On stage, Steve reached down to help Maddie up and pulled too hard. Maddie came rocketing up off the floor and right into Steve’s chest. The Steve on stage was blushing so hard that Steve could see it from here. He felt an answering blush echo on his own face. 

Bucky hooted and clapped his hands. “Bravo!” 

Steve didn’t know why his subconscious brain was tormenting him like this. He tried again to wish himself away, into some other, better dream. 

Bucky frowned and waved his hand and all the action on stage froze. He somehow swiveled his seat around until he was facing Steve across the stark, white line. 

“In all seriousness, we really do need to talk,” Bucky said. Steve couldn’t quite parse the expression on his face. 

“First I need to apologize,” Bucky continued. “For what happened when we first met.” 

“Apologize?” 

“Yeah, I was a real ass. I left you all alone here in the dream space and-” 

“So this _is_ all just a dream,” Steve interrupted. 

“Yes, Steve, you’re right, it is just a dream. But it’s a very special _kind_ of dream.” Bucky ran a hand over his face. “Just let me try and explain, all right?” 

Steve thought about the dreams he’d had lately. This, here and now, felt different; somehow it had substance. Talking to Bucky felt more real than anything that had happened since the crash. 

“That’s because I am real. We’re not going to get very far here if you can’t accept that, Steve,” Bucky said. “Besides, even if this all just in your head, it doesn’t make it any less real for you, does it?” 

Steve sighed. Bucky was right. Just because this was just in his head didn’t mean it wasn’t real. 

“All right, if you can explain this, I’m all ears,” Steve turned to face Bucky and felt his chair move, so they were facing each other across the aisle. 

“Good, great, thank you,” Bucky sighed. “OK, first - you remember what I said, about how I got here?” 

“You said you came through the same portal that Schmidt opened with the Tesseract. You thought I’d sent him as a sacrifice,” Steve nodded. 

“Yeah, and I know _now_ it was a misunderstanding,” Bucky said sharply. “But we’re still going to have to deal with the consequences.” 

Steve sat up straighter. “Consequences?” 

“’Fraid so,” Bucky said. “Just because the sacrifice was accidental doesn’t change the fact that I created a covenant when I accepted. A covenant that binds us both.” 

“Binds us how?” 

Bucky blew out a huge sigh. “I don’t know if you remember, but just before your plane hit the ice. You had a thought - a wish. One that I was obliged to grant.” 

The memory caught Steve and he remembered the voice of an Angel. _‘You are not alone.’_

“I didn’t want to die alone,” Steve said slowly. He’d crashed the plane, felt it sinking, the cold water rushing in. So cold it had felt like knives- 

“Steve!” Bucky’s voice snapped him out of thoughts. “It’s OK. Just stay with me.” 

“I’m not dead, am I,” Steve said. “And this isn’t a hallucination.” He didn’t know how, but he could _feel_ the truth in that statement. Somehow this was all very real. 

“Now you’re getting it!” Bucky said with fake cheerfulness. 

“I think,” Bucky continued in a more serious tone, “that if you’d been alone, you would just have been frozen in the ice, dreamless. But we’re bound together now. Our minds are linked, whether we like it or not, and I am _never_ dreamless.” 

“And there’s no way to break the bond? No loopholes in the contract, no technicalities?” 

Bucky grimaced. “No, not any easy ones anyway. We’re in this together until the end. Unless you’ve got a Stone of Power in your pocket?” 

“Sorry, I’m not carrying my spare Tesseract today,” Steve said. 

Bucky grinned, just a quick smile, but it lit up his face. He really was stupidly attractive. 

“Why thank you, I try,” Bucky batted his eyelashes at him. 

Steve could feel the heat bloom over his face. “I still think reading my mind is cheating. I mean, I can’t read yours.” 

The smile dropped off Bucky’s face. “Trust me, Steve, that’s a good thing. The last thing you want is access to my mind. That way lies true madness.” 

Madness? He was already talking to a giant squid, disguised as a man, inside his head. How much crazier could he possibly get? 

“Oh, Steve, you have _no_ idea,” Bucky smirked. “And hopefully, with my help, you never need to find out.” 

“Your help? What kind of help?” 

“Well, you’re going to have to learn to manipulate the dream space for one. And since you don’t like me reading your thoughts, you’re going to have to learn how to shield them.” 

“And you can do that - teach me how to make this,” he waved his hand at the frozen theater, “do what I want? Like you do?” 

“Yeah,” Bucky quipped. “Shouldn’t be too hard, not even for a lowly human like yourself.” 

“Oh, I see I’ve been upgraded from amoeba,” Steve raised his eyebrow. 

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. “I’d forgotten how intense emotions could be when I’m in this form. I kinda lost my temper.” 

“Me, too,” Steve said. “My Ma always said I had more temper than sense. She used to-” 

Steve felt the world start to slip - and then Bucky did something. Steve wasn’t sure what, but he could feel it. It was as if someone had laid a hand on his back, giving him support. 

“Thanks?” Steve blinked rapidly as the feeling faded. 

“’sokay,” Bucky smiled. “You’ll get the hang of it. But in the meantime, while you learn I’m going to need to stick close. Guide your dreams so you don’t lose yourself.” 

“So you’ll be a part of all my dreams?” He wasn’t sure how comfortable he felt about that. 

“I promise you Steve, whatever your dreams, I’ve definitely seen stranger in my time. There is _nothing_ you can dream I haven’t seen before. Besides, it’s only until you get the hang of it. Once you’ve learned how to master your dreams, we can go our separate ways. Well, as far as we can in this place, anyway.” 

Steve frowned. It’s not like he had much of a choice. He had felt how his thoughts had been turning darker and darker. This had to be better, right? 

“Don’t worry, Steve, it’ll be fun,” Bucky smiled. “In fact, it’s a lot like dancing. Once you master the steps, you can start to improvise. You can make all your dreams come true.” 

Steve groaned and looked up at the stage. If learning to control this dream was like learning to dance he was in big trouble. 

“Have a little faith, Steve. I’m a much better teacher than Murphy there.” Bucky jumped from his seat and started doing some fancy footwork on his side of the aisle. He ended with a spin, tapping his heels in time to music only he could hear. 

“What do you say? Partners?” Bucky reached out a hand, stopping just at the edge of the white line. 

“Partners,” Steve muttered. “Sure, why not.” What did he have to lose? He reached over and clasped Bucky’s hand. It felt real – solid – and a tingle ran up his arm. The white line dividing them dissolved into a cloud of white sparks and flew up to the ceiling of the theater, hovering like a cloud of fireflies. 

“Good! Great! Glad we got that settled.” Bucky dropped back down into his seat, throwing his feet up in front of him. 

“Now hush, I want to watch the rest of the show.” 

  
  



	5. Collapsing Cosmoses

  


“This is it, Steve,” Bucky said seriously. He gripped Steve’s shoulder firmly. “I’m going to share with you the ultimate secret of the dream space. Or any altered reality, really. You ready?” 

Steve took a deep breath. He was ready. 

“OK, here it is,” Bucky leaned in, his voice grave. “Boring is good.” 

Steve waited. Bucky leaned back, obviously finished. 

“That’s it? _Boring is good?”_

“Yep,” Bucky smirked. “Boring is good. Boring is _great.”_

“You ass,” Steve punched Bucky in the arm. 

“I’m serious!” Bucky laughed. “Hell, it’s not just the key to the dream space. It’s the ultimate secret of life. Boring is good.” 

Steve remembered the nightmares he’d been trapped in. Maybe Bucky had a point. 

“So, the trick is to keep your dreams boring?” Steve said. That was all? How hard could that be? He’d have this dream stuff mastered in no time. “All right, what’s next?” 

“First, you need to get some sleep,” Bucky said. 

“I thought I _was_ asleep.” 

“Your _body_ is asleep, but your mind’s been going for weeks, now.” 

Weeks? How was that possible? Did time flow differently here? 

But more important, how do you sleep when you’re already asleep? Could he dream while asleep in a dream? Was it like looking into one of those funhouse mirrors? 

Bucky rolled his eyes. “No, Rogers, you’re not Cthulhu. You’re not going to dream inside a dream into infinity.” 

Before Steve could ask who Cthulhu was, Bucky clapped his hands together. “So, sleep, and then we’ll get to work.” 

“Think about a time you fell asleep feeling safe,” Bucky continued. “No worries, no fears. Just safe, and warm and sleepy.” 

Steve frowned. When was the last time he’d felt perfectly safe? He could only think of few times after Ma had gotten sick; or after, in the orphanage. There were definitely none since he’d become Captain America and joined the war. When had he last felt content and safe? 

He closed his eyes and concentrated. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Bucky felt the world shift around them. Steve had a lot more control over dream space than Bucky had been expecting. 

Maybe he wouldn’t have to stay with Steve very long after all. 

They were in a room with simple, worn furniture – a couch and low table. One faded chair, one lamp. He could see a small kitchenette with a tiny table a few feet away. He knew the single door lead to a bedroom. 

Steve was sitting on the couch, drawing on a piece of brown paper. He was smaller than ever, practically a child. The light from the lamp turned his white blond hair to gold. 

Steve dropped his paper and made a move to get up. 

“Ah, ah, no, we came here so you could sleep,” Bucky said. “So lay down and sleep.” 

“But I just want to see-” 

“Later, Rogers,” Bucky pushed him down onto the couch. He grabbed a blanket off the back and started forcefully tucking him in. 

Steve opened his mouth and Bucky cut him off. How could so much stubborn could be crammed into such a small body? 

“No, just no,” Bucky said. “If you don’t get some sleep you’re going to go insane. Do you think I want to spend the next ten thousand years sharing space with a mad man?” 

Roger’s big blue eyes went wide. Bucky refused to admit they were adorable. 

“Ten thousand years?” he squeaked. “I know you said I was immortal, but-” 

“Geez, it was hyperbole, OK? Can we talk about it later?” Bucky sighed. He grabbed a threadbare pillow and jammed it under Steve’s head. The glare he got was worth it. “Just go the fuck to sleep!” 

“Oh, we are definitely going to talk about this,” Steve grumbled, but he rolled on his side, clutching the blanket tighter. 

Steve’s thoughts slowed as his exhaustion caught up with him until they finally stilled. 

Bucky stared at Steve’s sleeping form. He knew the kind of gene manipulation it took to turn a fragile adult with a beautiful face and delicate bones into the giant he’d seen on that airplane. 

If humankind was manipulating genes and using energy weapons, how long until they reached into space? Didn’t they realize the danger they were putting themselves in? 

He shook his head; not his problem. 

Once he taught Steve to balance his mind they could go their separate ways. Well, as far as the dream space would allow. But it was going to take more than just a nap. 

Bucky had seen the effects of war all too often, in too many races; he could see the signs carved into Steve’s psyche. Steve was going to need peace and time to heal. 

Good thing he had Bucky, here at the bottom of the sea, and time to fix this. 

Bucky subtly adjusted the couch to be less lumpy, the blanket a little less scratchy, and kept the nightmares away while Steve slept. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Bucky muttered. 

Bucky didn’t really know Steve, not yet. Just the thoughts and feelings he’d absorbed when he thought Steve was dying. 

But what kind of guy picks fights _in his own dreams?_

One minute he’d been walking down the street with Steve, the next there was a crash in the alley behind him. 

He turned and sprinted, pulling up short at the sight of Steve facing off against three men, his fists raised. His lip was split, his expression obstinate and fierce. 

Bucky tried to dispel the memory, to change this dream, but Steve had a firm grip on it. Whatever this was, it was something he was _determined_ to relive. 

Bucky grabbed the nearest assailant and pitched him out of the alley and into the street. He ducked a punch, then slammed his fist into his attacker’s face, sending him into the trash cans. 

The third man spun around and Bucky threw him out of the alley, giving him a hard kick to send him on his way. 

“What the hell, Steve?” Bucky said. “I thought we were going to the diner? You know, the nice, _boring_ diner?” 

“I could have handled it,” Steve grumbled. “I didn’t need your help.” 

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Tell me, what happened the first time you fought these guys?” 

Steve’s eyes darted down, then back up. He met Bucky’s gaze. 

“They kicked the crap out of me,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean-” 

“Yeah, Steve, it does! Until you learn control, all you’ll do is relive memories, get caught in flashbacks.” 

“I know, I know. You told me before. Let’s just go, OK?” Steve stomped out of the alley and back down the street. 

Bucky caught up with him at the diner, the door swinging open, bell jangling. Steve nodded to the girl behind the counter and slid into a booth next to the window. 

Bucky cautiously took the seat across from him. 

“Look, Steve,” he started, “I’m not saying it’s wrong to relive things-” 

“No,” Steve interrupted, “I know. The fight happened a long time ago. It’s not something I can go back and fix. Even if I had kicked their asses, this is all just a dream. Nothing I do here really matters, does it?” 

The sky outside went from cloudy afternoon to midnight dark as if Steve had flipped a switch. 

“Do you always have to be so dramatic?” Bucky said. “And yes, everything you do in here matters.” 

He turned the afternoon sun back on. 

Steve narrowed his eyes and the sun slipped down a little in the sky. 

“Punk,” Bucky muttered. 

“Jerk,” Steve said, and his mouth twitched in a smile. 

The counter girl brought over two cups and slid them onto the table. Steve took a deep breath and for a moment Bucky could smell it too, rich and earthy; _coffee_ Steve’s mind supplied. 

“So how can anything matter if this is just a dream?” Steve asked. 

“I told you, Steve, it’s a special kind of dream,” Bucky leaned back, arm across the seat. “When you wake up, you’ll remember all of this. It won’t fade like your normal dreams. Whatever happens in here, it’s as if it were happening in real life. Letting your dreams get away from you is dangerous.” 

“Because my primitive mind can’t handle it?” Steve raised an eyebrow. 

“No, you ass,” Bucky snapped. “Because _no one_ handles it well when your own mind becomes your worst enemy. Trust me - I know.” 

“Bucky?”Steve leaned forward. “What -” 

“Nothing, forget it,” Bucky waved his hand, “Drink your coffee.” 

Steve glared but took a sip of his coffee. The flavor was sharp, nothing like the smell, and the memories of it overflowed Steve’s mind, pouring into Bucky. Too many images, too many emotions. On the front lines, gritty and cold in a battered metal cup; smooth and rich served in a restaurant with white linen napkins; in the kitchen with Mama- 

Bucky slammed his walls up. He needed to stop letting his guard down around Steve. He was taking a risk as it was. If he let Steve’s experiences change him too much he could never go home. 

As tempting as it was, he needed to keep his distance. 

  


  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“Oh, by all the gods,” Bucky moaned. “I said boring, Steve, not stultifying.” He slumped in his seat and looked to the sky for help. 

“Shut it, you,” Steve said. “Baseball is the great American pastime.” 

“I once spent ten thousand years watching a stalactite grow,” Bucky whined. “And it was more interesting than this.” 

“Oh, now who’s being dramatic?” Steve grinned. 

Bucky sat up straighter as one of the players hit the ball. It was a foul. Sooo boring. 

At least the Cracker Jacks were good. And he had no idea what was in a hotdog, and he didn’t care. He motioned for the vendor to send down four more. 

“We could go to the library?” Steve suggested. 

“We could, but the only books you’ll be able to read are ones you’ve read before,” Bucky said. “You can’t recreate something you’ve never seen.” 

“I guess that makes sense,” Steve sounded disappointed. 

Down below the batter struck out, and Bucky groaned. If there were a hell, this would be the game they played. 

“You must go to a lot of these, huh,” Bucky said. He waved at the field, the stadium, the crowd, all reproduced in exquisite detail. Steve’s mastery of the dream space was growing by leaps and bounds. 

“Sure,” Steve said. “If the Dodgers were losing they would open the gates for the last couple innings. Arnie and I could get some really good seats for free.” 

“Your friend from the orphanage?” Bucky handed Steve a hot dog, licking a bit of mustard off his thumb. 

“Yeah,” Steve said. “He was my best friend after Ma died. He joined the Navy before I met Dr. Erskine.” 

The baseball game froze, but it didn’t disappear. 

“I heard his ship was lost in the South Pacific,” Steve said sadly. 

“I’m sorry, Steve,” Bucky gripped Steve’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

“I’m fine,” Steve shook his head. “Thanks, though.” 

They sat in silence, watching the game. After a while, Steve turned to Bucky with a wicked grin. 

“Well, I’m going to miss reading, but, lucky you, I listened to a _lot_ of baseball games on the radio. I can’t wait to recreate all of them for you!” 

“Ass,” Bucky punched him in the arm. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Bucky stretched, watching the waves roll up on the sand, the sounds of Coney Island carrying on the breeze, seagulls wheeling overhead. 

This wasn’t boring, it was heaven. 

“Quit moving, you’re ruining the lines,” Steve grumped. 

“But Steve, you love my lines,” Bucky drawled, resuming his pose. 

“I don’t know why I’m doing this. I mean, it’s not like I can keep this sketch. When I wake up, it won’t even exist.” 

“But the idea of it will,” Bucky said. He pulled his sunglasses down and peered at Steve. “And if you really wanted to you could redraw it from memory.” 

“Or I could just have you pose again,” Steve mumbled. He kept his head bowed over his sketch book, but Bucky could feel him blush. 

“You know I love posing for you, but on the outside I won’t look like this.” Bucky waved his hand over his very human body. “Mass of alien tentacles, remember?” 

Steve frowned, sketching forgotten. “You mean once we wake up-” 

“Yep,” Bucky said. He lay back down on the sand. “This piece of me is too small to generate a physical Avatar. If - when we wake up, I’ll go back to my normal self and only you’ll be able to see me.” 

Steve frowned, a look Bucky knew meant trouble. 

“You know, you don’t have to keep this shape just for my sake,” Steve said. “I mean it’s nice and all-” 

“Of course it’s nice, Steve,” Bucky arched his back, just a little. “I got it from your mind, remember? This is everything you ever dreamed of.” 

“Shut up, it is not,” Steve grumbled. “And I just meant if you’d feel more comfortable in your natural form, I wouldn’t mind.” 

“Really?” Bucky sat up, leaning on his elbow. “You were pretty upset the first time you saw me.” 

“I was surprised, that’s all,” Steve said mulishly. “I’ve had time to get used to the idea. It’s fine.” 

“Hmm,” Bucky said. “I’ll think about it. Now finish your drawing.” He lay down in the sand, the sun warm on his skin. It was a nice idea. And what if Steve was fine with more? It would be so nice to touch Steve, wrap him in a hundred arms, taste him with all his senses... 

Steve gave a small yelp, and Bucky realized he’d wrapped a tentacle around Steve’s ankle. Shit, he hadn’t meant to do that. 

“Takes more than that to scare me, Buck,” Steve grinned. “Told you it was OK.” 

Steve dropped his hand down to rest on the tentacle, his thumb stroking gently, and Bucky quivered all over. 

“Yeah, just testing,” Bucky tried to laugh. 

Oh, gods below, he was so screwed. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Arnie Roth](http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Arnold_Roth_\(Earth-616\)) was Steve’s best friend in the comics. He did survive the war and was one of Marvel Comics first openly gay characters.


	6. The Thing in the Moonlight

  


Steve lay back on the rooftop listening to the sounds of New York float up on the breeze. He’d edited out the more unpleasant parts of this memory – the smell of garbage and overcooked cabbage for one. It was easy now, after over a year of practice. 

White fluffy clouds floated overhead and Steve sculpted them, first into Bucky’s face, then into a pile of tentacles. He made the tentacles wave as the cloud drifted past. 

He sighed and almost started drawing a chain of hearts. 

_‘Geez, get a grip, Rogers.’_

Next thing he knew he’d be doodling _‘Mr. & Mr. Buck Rogers’_ in the edges of his sketchbook. Sketchbooks full of Bucky’s face, his hands, his many, many arms... 

There was no way around it - he was in love with Bucky. Bucky was funny, smart, sarcastic; everything Steve looked for in a partner. 

He just happened to be an alien octopus monster. 

Not that Bucky’s appearance mattered. He’d meant it when he’d told Bucky that his true form wasn’t an issue. 

But ever since that day at the beach Bucky had been withdrawn, spending more time by himself. He said it was because Steve could handle the dream space by himself now, but he knew that wasn’t why. 

It was because Steve was an idiot. 

He’d tried not to let his feelings show, but it must have been obvious. Bucky was probably trying to let him down easy. 

After all, Bucky was an ancient alien so powerful he got mistaken for a deity. What the hell did Steve have to offer someone like him? Next to Bucky, Steve really was a dancing monkey. 

“Bucky’s right,” he muttered. “You’re being overly dramatic.” 

Sitting around on the roof mooning wasn’t going to get him any answers. He needed to talk to Bucky. He just didn’t have a lot of practice with this romance stuff. Maybe if he- 

The whole world rippled and shook, and his first thought was ‘earthquake.’ 

Another spasm wracked the dream space and he bolted to his feet. 

“Bucky!?” It had to be; Bucky was in trouble. 

Steve leaped over the edge of the roof, dropping down the six stories to the ground. He did it so fast he didn’t register his increased size, the uniform, or the shield on his back. 

“Bucky!” He called. “Where are you? Bucky?” 

Wait, what the hell was he doing? This was the dream space. 

He closed his eyes, letting his dream of New York go. 

He was on the gray plain of neutral space, but the sky... The sky was a maelstrom of fast moving stars on a pitch black sky. 

He knew he shouldn’t cross into Bucky’s dream, not without permission, but he could feel Bucky’s fear and desperation. 

_‘Better to ask forgiveness than permission,’_ he thought and dove into Bucky’s nightmare. 

He found himself on bleak, rocky shoreline. Black rocks as sharp as glass tumbled to the edge of the sea. The stars in the sky were whipping around as if caught in a tornado. 

There in a pool at the edge of the frothing sea was a mass of tentacles. 

Steve skidded to a stop next to Bucky. His limbs were thrashing as if he were being electrocuted and a thin, high whine was echoing through the dream space. 

“Bucky! Bucky wake up!” If he touched Bucky while his shields were down he would hear his thoughts. Bucky had warned him that could be dangerous, but he just couldn’t let Bucky suffer. Not like this. 

He grasped one of the flailing tentacles, holding it still. _‘Bucky I’m here, you’re safe,’_ he projected as loud as he could. 

Instantly Bucky uncoiled from the tidal pool, slamming into Steve, wrapping him in a dozen flailing arms. 

The wailing in Steve’s mind changed into words, Bucky voice, running fast, stumbling over itself. 

“Steve?” Bucky’s laugh was bordering on hysterical. “Steve you don’t know what it’s like. They call you a god, but they don’t mean it. They cut you up and cut you up until you’re so small you forget who you are. Force you into their image, make you hate the same people they hate. You change and change until you don’t even remember who you are. And you can never, never go home again. You need to destroy that part before it contaminates the rest. Cast it off to drift alone until it dies-” 

“Bucky, hey, please,” Steve held onto Bucky, pulling the mass of tentacles into his lap. Bucky contracted in, tentacles so tightly wound it was like clutching a ball of iron. “It’s OK. Just count with me, by threes. Just concentrate on my voice and count.” 

Steve started counting out loud, running his hands over Bucky, trying to sooth him. Bucky didn’t count with him, but the flood of words had stopped. Steve didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. 

“You’re safe here with me,” Steve murmured. He started to hum one of the Irish lullabies his mother had sung to him. 

He didn’t know how much time passed. Time was funny here in the dream space. Sometimes days seem like minutes, sometimes minutes felt like years. 

Eventually, Bucky relaxed, his tentacles uncoiling and going loose. The waves settled down, the breakers smoothing out. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Steve asked quietly. 

“No,” Bucky quivered all over. “No...but can I...?” He burrowed in closer, wrapping himself around Steve. “Just for a minute.” 

“Yeah, of course, for as long as you need.” 

Steve watched the alien stars swing through the sky, heard the wine-dark sea move against the shore. 

He held Bucky close and kissed the tip of one of Bucky’s tentacles. 

“I’ve got you,” Steve hugged Bucky close. “You’re safe.” 

“I’m the opposite of safe,” Bucky snorted. But he burrowed closer to Steve, wrapping him up with all his arms. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Steve was standing in an alien marketplace, on an alien world. The air was full of strange spices and people of all colors and sizes browsed the shops and stalls. Steve’s fingers itched for a paintbrush to capture all the hues. Pink, green, blue... It was as if a rainbow had taken human form. And that wasn’t counting the truly alien folks – people with scales or fangs. There was even a walking, talking tree. 

And the technology! Computers small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Telephones the size of grape seeds, set inside people’s ears. Televisions built into people’s eyes. 

Steve was so glad that Bucky had started sharing his memories. He’d seen so much, been around so long. They could be frozen at the bottom of the ocean forever and never run out of things to see, planets to explore. 

That thought had scared him once upon a time, but not anymore. Now that he had Bucky he’d be happy to dream his way through eternity. 

“Elder god to Steve,” Bucky kicked him in the ankle. “Hello? Anyone in there?” 

“Sorry, got lost in thought,” Steve said. 

“Must have been a short trip,” Bucky deadpanned. 

“Hardy, har, har,” Steve shook his head. “Jerk.” 

“You said you wanted to try my favorite food,” Bucky’s grin was wicked. He held out a small white cup. “Well, here it is.” 

They didn’t need to eat in dream space, but Bucky had loved experiencing every food Steve could remember. He’d even loved _Spam_ for God’s sake. 

So Steve had asked to try Bucky’s favorites. After all, how bad could it be? 

Maybe he should have asked more questions first. 

Steve cautiously took the cup and peered inside. He felt his lip curl. It was full of black segmented worms. Live, wiggling worms. 

“There you go. The most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten.” Steve looked up to see Bucky biting his lip, trying to hold in a laugh. 

Bucky gently picked up one of the worms and sucked it into his mouth, eyes never leaving Steve’s. 

“Oh, fuck, that’s good,” Bucky moaned. The sound was so orgasmic it made Steve’s breath catch. That was definitely not playing fair. 

But if Bucky thought Steve was going to back down from a challenge, he didn’t know a thing about Brooklyn boys. Steve had eaten worms on a dare when he was three. Not to mention all the times he’d forgotten to sieve the flour for weevils. 

He picked up one of the worms and he put it in his mouth. He was so busy staring Bucky down that it took a second for the taste to hit him. 

He knew he was experiencing this as Bucky had. The taste, the feeling, were all from Bucky’s point of view. 

It was amazing; spicy, sweet, rich. And Bucky’s emotions – the complexity almost overwhelmed him. 

“Stevie? You OK, pal?” He only knew his eyes had closed when he felt Bucky grab his arm. 

He opened his eyes to see the naked concern in Bucky’s sky blue eyes. Bucky smiled and it made Steve’s stomach twist. That wasn’t from eating worms. 

“I love you,” Steve blurted. 

Bucky’s eyes went wide. “Oh, thank the gods,” Bucky’s sighed. “I thought it was just me.” 

He grabbed the cup out of Steve’s hand and flung it over his shoulder. 

Steve didn’t know who moved first, but the next thing he felt was Bucky’s lips on his. 

Steve had kissed a few girls in his time, even the occasional man since he’d become Captain America. 

This was like nothing he’d ever experienced. He realized he could hear some of Bucky thoughts - love and desire and fear and hope. It was intoxicating. 

He felt Bucky’s smirk against his lips. _‘Ooo, I’m intoxicating, am I?’_

_‘Yeah, yeah, don’t get a swelled head, mister,’_ Steve projected. 

Bucky stopped kissing him and wiggled his eyebrows. “Oh, I’ll show you more than a swelled head, Steve.” 

Steve felt a tentacle wrap around his waist, another rub the back of his neck. 

_‘Oh, my God.’_ His heart started racing. He wasn’t going to lie. Those tentacles had featured in more than one of his fantasies. 

“Oh, I _am_ a god,” Bucky’s grin was wicked. “And I think maybe I can finally prove it to you.” 

Steve groaned, fingers gently squeezing the tentacle wrapping around his arm. He was so screwed. 

“Count on it, sweetheart,” Bucky drawled. “Count on it.” 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“Ready?” Bucky asked. His grin was so shark-like that Steve swore he could see the rows of serrated teeth. 

Steve loved this game almost as much as Bucky did. They’d been playing it for decades and it never got old. 

They had settled on a night scene, in a forest. It felt like mid-summer. Neither one of them were very fond of the cold. 

“Ready if you are, old man,” Steve called. “Do you need a head start?” 

“Head start? I’ll show you who needs a head start,” Bucky was already charging. Steve was ready for him, and he hit the ground running. 

Four hooves churned the dirt, and Steve stretched out his neck, his white tail flashing in the moonlight as he ran. He loved how he moved as a horse, the power in the form. 

But Bucky was already nipping at his heels. He was a wolf, black as night, his eyes icy-blue. _‘Beautiful,’_ Steve thought. Bucky was beautiful no matter what form he took. 

Steve spun, trying to get ahead, but Bucky twisted with him and Steve felt his teeth on his leg, felt the skin give. 

“Ten points!” Bucky crowed. He spun, claws tearing through the leaf litter but Steve was already changing. He sprang, coming in low, his lion bowling Bucky over. He stretched, trying to get his teeth around any part of Bucky, but Bucky was already shifting. 

Bucky reared up, roaring. “Ha! Try and bite through that!” 

“A dinosaur?” Steve rolled his eyes. “That’s what you’re going with?” 

“Can’t score if you can’t bite,” Bucky laughed. He swung his knobby tail hard, making Steve jump over it. “This hide is as tough as armor.” 

Steve leaped up and Bucky dodged, but Steve wasn’t a lion anymore. He was a small monkey, scrambling up Bucky’s back while Bucky’s massive head swung around, scenting the air. 

“Stevie? Where’d you go?” Bucky asked suspiciously. He stooped to peer under a shrub. 

Steve scampered up until he was perched on Bucky’s neck. He wet the tip of his tail and jammed into Bucky’s ear. 

“Argh,” Bucky shouted. “Cheating! That’s cheating!” He collapsed into his human form, rubbing the side of his face. 

“The dinosaur goes down,” Steve fell on top of Bucky, making him oomf. “I win.” 

“You cheated is what you did,” Bucky grumbled. He ran a hand through Steve’s hair. “The game is ‘Chase and Bite,’ not ‘Wet Willie.’” 

“I still win,” Steve said. He wiggled harder on top of Bucky. 

“Keep that up and we’ll both be winners,” Bucky kissed along Steve’s jaw. Steve felt his smile and knew he was in trouble, just as Bucky bit down on his neck. Hard enough to leave a mark. 

“Let me guess, ten points?” Steve sighed. He felt one of Bucky’s tentacles slowly moving up his leg. 

“Mmhm,” Bucky said. “Let’s see how many-” 

Bucky was cut off as a bright light cut through their dream. It was coming from the sky, moving through the trees like a search light. A loud clang reverberated through the space like thunder. 

Bucky pushed Steve off, eyes wide, a look of fear on his face. 

“Bucky? Are you...” 

“It’s not me,” Bucky wrapped his arms around himself, curling inward. “It’s from outside, in the waking world. Someone must have found the plane. You’re – you’re being rescued.” 

  



	7. The Shadow Out of Time

  


“Bucky?” Steve reached out and gripped his shoulder. “Are you sure?” 

Bucky nodded, watching the lights disappear. He could feel the change in the dream space. 

He really thought they’d have more time. It had been barely seventy years. Hardly any time at all, really. 

But someone was out there. The SSR? Hydra? Someone new? 

He’d relived so many of Steve’s memories from the war it felt like he’d served himself. Too bad he couldn’t have been there in the waking world when Steve had needed him. If he’d been Steve’s sergeant for real, maybe things would have been different. 

He shook his head. Whoever was out there, Steve wouldn’t be facing them alone. 

“So, just like we planned?” Bucky twined a limb around Steve’s waist. 

“As long as you’re sure this isn’t going to hurt you too much,” Steve nodded, but he didn’t look happy. “We can just wait and wake up together-” 

“Nah, I got this, Steve,” Bucky said. “We need to know, right?” 

Bucky closed his eyes and stretched his awareness. Up and Out. It was so hard while Steve was sleeping. They were bound together here, and the dream space didn’t want to give him up. It felt like claws in his skin, a metallic screech in his mind. 

But he needed to do this, for Steve. 

He blinked as he felt his body, his real body around him. He was still curled around Steve, spooning him. Steve’s body was lying on a table, metal walls and floor around them. He was still encased in ice, and the room was freezing. 

There were voices in the corridor. 

He phased a tentacle through the ice and reached into the hallway so he could see. 

Two men dressed in cold weather gear were whispering, heads bent low together. 

Well, that never meant anything good. Bucky stretched closer. 

“We knew when we found the weapons there was a chance we’d find the body. If we can extract the serum, unlock its secrets, finish what Zola started...” The excitement in his voice was clear. 

_Zola._ Bucky flinched. Some of Steve’s worst memories revolved around Zola. He’d seen Zola’s lab through Steve’s memories, seen what he’d done to prisoners. Shouldn’t he be dead by now? 

“We’ve got our guys on notice, they’re ready at the Shield labs. Once we dock, we’ll get samples of Cap’s blood, bone marrow, brain, heart, the works. We’ll send it to the secure labs in Germany and Russia.” 

“This is a great day,” the shorter one said. “Not only did we get Cap’s body, we got the Skull’s bombs, too. Even if the mechanisms are shot, we can still use them for energy storage.” 

There was the clang of a door further down the corridor and the two of them sprung apart. 

“Shit, it’s Coulson,” the tall one whispered. 

“Just stay cool,” the short one said. Then he smirked and muttered under his breath. It sounded a lot like “Hail Hydra.” 

Oh, this was bad - so very, _very_ bad. 

Bucky watched as a third figure joined them. He was older, also balding, but dignified. 

“Sitwell, Rumlow,” he nodded to the two. 

“Coulson,” Sitwell nodded. “I didn’t expect you to fly all the way out here just to see Cap’s body.” 

“Yes, well,” Coulson looked around, trying to peer into the room behind Bucky. “I know they’ll be planning a state funeral and probably a viewing in the Rotunda, but I just had to see for myself.” 

Oh, this just kept getting better and better. They thought Steve was dead, and Hydra was planning on dissecting him. If they knew he was alive, it would probably be vivisection. 

He needed to save Steve, and he needed to do it now. 

From their actions, this Coulson person wasn’t Hydra. Bucky didn’t know _what_ he was, but for now, that would have to be enough. 

Coulson was in the room now, staring at Steve with open worship in his face. From Bucky’s position on Steve’s back, it was really alarming. 

Well, any port in a storm. 

He grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled. The ice had melted around it enough that he could move it back and forth a little. 

Coulson didn’t see. He was too busy ogling... well, Steve’s everything. 

Not that Bucky blamed him, but geez, really, guy? What was he, a necrophiliac? 

Bucky scrapped his tentacles over the ice, making a squeaking noise. He wiggled Caps’ fingers again. 

Hello? Anyone? 

Coulson’s eyes went huge. He gasped so hard he almost choked. 

“He’s alive!” Coulson yelled. “He’s not dead!” 

“What?” Sitwell took a step back. “How is-” 

“I know what I saw,” Coulson barked, voice firm. He was already pushing on something in his ear. “I need a full medical team to the Storage bay, STAT.” 

Bucky sighed and stopped resisting the pull of dream space. 

He opened his eyes to see Steve’s worried face. He took a step and collapsed into a pile of limbs. Oops. Maybe that was harder than he’d thought. 

“Bucky!” Steve was pulling him into his lap, rubbing his hand over every tentacle he could reach. “Are you all right?” 

Bucky ran the tip of a tentacle over Steve’s cheek. He was just going to ignore how it was shaking. 

“Well,” Bucky deadpanned. “I’ve got good news and bad news.” 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“That is the _stupidest_ idea I’ve ever heard,” Buck groaned, hands on his head. 

“Come on, Buck,” Steve chided. “It makes sense.” 

“Sense?” Bucky manifested a wall and started banging his head on it. “In what universe – does trying to infiltrate – an unknown organization – to find unidentified Hydra agents – in an unfamiliar century – make sense?!” 

“Bucky- ” Steve grabbed Bucky’s arm. If Bucky was in his human Avatar, he couldn’t be too mad. 

“No!” Bucky spun so they were toe-to-toe. “This is the real world were talking about, Steve. It’s been seventy years. For all you know, Germany won the war and Hydra is everywhere. You won’t have any allies-” 

“I can’t believe that we lost - I won’t. You said they were being secretive. You don’t need to keep secrets if you’re in charge. Besides, there’s that Agent Coulson you saw. I’ll start there. And...” Steve’s grip tightened. “And I’ll have you, right?” 

“Yeah, Steve,” Bucky’s shoulders slumped. “Of course you’ll have me. You couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.” 

Steve grimaced. No matter how happy they’d been here, it was his fault Bucky couldn’t go home. 

“You are the stubbornest being I’ve ever met,” Bucky sighed. “And I have some memories that go back for 13 _billion_ years.” 

“Does that mean you’ll do it?” Steve smiled. 

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Now there you go, being stupid again. Of course I will.” 

“Thanks, Buck,” Steve pulled Bucky into a hug and kissed behind his ear. “I knew I could count on you.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Buck muttered. He pulled Steve’s head back by his hair and kissed him. They got lost in it for a few minutes until they both felt the dream space lurch and flicker before it settled down again. 

“I guess they changed their minds about dissection,” Bucky said looking up at the sky, “since they keep sedating you.” 

“They won’t be able to keep it up. My body processes drugs faster the longer it’s exposed to them,” Steve sighed. “It’s going to be strange being back in my old body. My Cap body; well, that and not be able to change shape or -” 

“It won’t just feel strange,” Bucky said. “It’s going to hurt. Leaving the dream space after so long is going to be painful. You need to be ready for it.” 

“One thing I’ve learned,” Steve said, “is that big changes are always painful. I’ll be ready.” 

  


  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


_‘Oh, holy crap,’_ Steve thought. Bucky hadn’t been lying. This wasn’t as bad as the Vita-Ray tube, but it was close. 

_‘Hang on, I’ve got you,’_ Bucky said firmly. _‘You’re safe.’_

With a final jolt, he felt himself wake up. He kept his eyes closed, his breath slow and shallow. Eventually, the crushing pain faded, but everything felt different, solid and sharp. The clothes he was wearing felt too tight, the sheets underneath him felt like sandpaper. 

But he could feel Bucky’s tentacles wrapped around him, as soft and smooth as ever. He gently squeezed the tentacle wrapped around his waist. 

They’d made it. They were in the future. 

He had no idea what to expect; a hospital, most likely. Diagnostic scanners and holographic panels. Maybe a robot doctor! 

He slowly opened his eyes. 

Even if he hadn’t been warned in advance, he would have known it was a sham. 

The room looked and felt like a stage set. The window behind him was open, but there were no noises from outside. The ‘breeze’ was obviously generated by a fan. 

Then there was the ballgame on the radio. He knew this one. He’d recreated it from memory despite Bucky’s protests. They’d sat on the first base line, eating worms and holding hands. 

_‘Bucky?’_ he called mentally. 

_‘I’m still here, Sunshine,’_ Bucky said. _‘Welcome to the 21_ _st_ _century.’_

Steve smiled and stroked the tentacle over his shoulder. It hadn’t been just a wonderful dream. Bucky was still here. 

There was a quick knock and the door opened. 

Bucky and Steve both snorted at the same time. 

_‘That is just pathetic,’_ Bucky said. 

_‘I know, right?’_ Steve narrowed his eyes. _‘The uniform is all wrong, her hair isn’t regulation-’_

_‘This has to be a test,’_ Bucky laughed. _‘Make sure your brain doesn’t have frostbite.’_

“Good morning, or should I say, afternoon,” the woman smiled. 

He stood up, taking a few careful steps, testing his balance. Everything seemed fine, no worse for being frozen for seventy years. _‘Chalk one up for the serum, I guess.’_

“Where am I?” Steve said firmly. 

“You’re in a recovery room in New York City.” 

“Where am I _really?”_

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” the woman sounded nervous. 

“The game, it’s from May, 1941. I know, ’cuz I was there. Now, I’m gonna ask you again. Where _am_ I?” 

_‘Are you sure about this Steve?’_ Bucky asked. _‘We could still make a run for it. Lay low somewhere.’_

_‘I’m sure Buck,’_ Steve thought. _‘If this is Hydra, we need to play along, gather as much information as possible. But we need to make this look good.’_

_‘I just want to say again that I think this is a stupid plan,’_ Bucky groused. 

_‘Noted,’_ Steve tensed all over. _‘Hang on.’_

“Captain Rogers?” the woman was backing up, clearing the doorway. 

Two soldiers in black, futuristic uniforms tried to block the door. Steve threw them through the wall and kept moving, through a lobby and out into the street. 

Steve ran slowly, made sure to go in a straight line so he wouldn’t throw off any pursuit. Whoever these people were, they didn’t seem very competent. Maybe they really _were_ all Hydra... 

Steve slowed to a stop. The woman hadn’t lied. 

This really was New York. 

He could still recognize the bones of Times Square, even under all the gaudy lights and screens. 

He’d know it had been seventy years, but he hadn’t expected it to hit him like this. He felt breath catch, almost as if he still had asthma. 

Everything he knew was gone. He might as well be on one of Bucky’s alien worlds. 

He could never go home again. 

_‘Steve?’_ Bucky’s voice was worried, and he could feel Bucky stroking his back, his arms. 

A fleet of black vehicles surrounded them, and a tall, imposing black man with an eye patch got out. 

“At ease soldier! Look, I’m sorry about that little show back there. But we thought it best to break it to you slowly,” the man approached, hands out and open. 

Steve nodded, eyes never leaving the billboards. 

“You’ve been asleep, Cap; for almost seventy years. Are you gonna be okay?” 

_‘Steve?’_ Bucky said softly. 

“Yeah. Yeah... I just...I was dreaming...” Steve trailed off. _‘I’m glad you’re here with me, Buck.’_

_‘I am. Until the end of the line,’_ Bucky squeezed him harder, wrapping him up in all his arms. 

  



	8. The Rats in the Wall

  


_‘Why is it that he comes up with the plan, but I end up doing the dirty work?’_ Bucky muttered to himself as he wiggled through the ductwork. He couldn’t help shuddering at the wads of dust and hair stuck to his tentacles. 

He carefully slid through the open vent, plopping down into Steve’s bathtub before he shook himself all over, grimy dust bunnies flying off to stick on the wall. 

He grabbed the shower curtain and rattled it to let Steve know he was back. 

Steve poked his head around the bathroom door. “Hey, Buck, you’re back!” He stepped into the bathroom and grabbed the end of one of Bucky’s tentacles. 

“Oh, gross,” Steve complained, but he didn’t let go. They had quickly found that their telepathic connection only worked if they were touching. “Did you get the STRIKE files?” 

“Yeah,” Bucky said, handing over a stack of folders, a couple of thumb drives and a pile of Snickers bars, Doritos, and Kit-Kats. He wrapped a tentacle around Steve’s ankle so they could keep talking. “These are the last of them.” 

“The files or the Doritos?” Steve asked absently, already thumbing through the folders. 

“Both,” Bucky started the shower, sighing as the warm water washed over him. “That’s not all I found. You aren’t going to like it.” 

“Hmm?” Steve looked up, that cute little wrinkle between his eyes. 

“Let me shower and I’ll tell you about it. And don’t eat all the cool ranch; those are mine!” Bucky said, he shoved Steve towards the door. 

Bucky shook the bottle of body wash. It was already running low. Steve was going to have to get more soon. His handlers must wonder what the hell he was doing with it all. But there was no way Bucky was going to sit around covered in lint after every trip through the ducts. He could have just phased through the dirt, but why waste the energy when he could smell like lavender and mint? 

Steve had already spread the files over the table, cross-referencing with their list, when Bucky finished and rolled out to the main room. 

He plastered himself along Steve’s back, tentacles squirming up his shirt and down his pants. 

“Gah!” Steve jumped, “you’re still wet! At least you could dry off first.” 

“But I love you so much!” Bucky laughed, wrapping Steve up tight. “I just couldn’t wait.” 

“Love you, too,” Steve stroked the tentacle around his waist. He tapped the folder in front of him and sighed. “You still think it’s _all_ of STRIKE? There isn’t anyone who isn’t compromised?” 

“Doesn’t look like it,” Bucky said. “And I’ve got more bad news.” 

Steve groaned and rubbed his eyes. “How bad?” 

“There’s some top, top, _top_ secret project going on right now that’s got all the higher ups worried,” Bucky said. “I listened in while Maria was calling Phil from the SCIF. Whatever it is, it sounds like it’s FUBAR’d. Fury is heading out tonight, to look into it personally. I searched all the main servers, but there’s nothing. I bet everything is on the private server in Fury’s office.” 

“Well, we always planned on searching Fury’s office,” Steve said calmly. “We’ll just have to step it up. Get in there today. Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.” 

“You’ve always got a plan,” Bucky muttered. “What you _don’t_ have is backup. You know I’m practically useless like this.” 

Steve stroked his arm and smiled. “Give me some credit - I’m not going to break down the door. And you _are_ a great backup. Look at everything you’ve gotten us so far.” 

Bucky growled low, shaking his arms. He hated the fact that he was practically powerless. If only he’d been given a bigger piece of the Whole. If he only had more to work with, they wouldn’t need to do all this sneaking around. 

If he were bigger, he could just read the minds of every Hydra agent inside SHIELD - and then eat them. Problem solved. 

They probably wouldn’t taste as good as chocolate, but hey, he was willing to make the sacrifice. 

“So what’s the project called?” Steve was already bundling up the laptop Bucky had stolen, along with the files and drives. 

“Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S,” Bucky said, as he phased their intelligence hoard through the solid wall and hid it in the space next to the plumbing. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“You wanted to see me, Cap?” Fury looked up from a file he’d been reading. He motioned to a seat across from his desk. 

“I did, Sir,” Steve sat and felt Bucky drop off onto the floor. He kept his face carefully neutral. 

“Nothing serious I hope,” Fury leaned forward a bit. “If this is about your Tac suit, I’ve already spoken with Phil. I know he meant well, but... well, let just say I see your point. That suit wasn’t really practical.” 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Steve said tactfully, trying not to smile. 

In the corner behind Fury, Bucky curled one tentacle in a circle and jammed a second one through it in a universally obscene gesture. 

“In fact, your new gear should be ready,” Fury said. “And let’s just say it’s a lot more... subdued.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Steve sighed. He didn’t have to fake his relief. That suit of Coulson’s was worse then the tights he’d worn on the Spangle circuit. They would have been useless even as pajamas. How Coulson thought he would be OK fighting in that was a mystery. 

“So if it’s not the suit?” Fury prompted. 

“I want to switch therapists,” Steve said. “I just don’t think that Dr. Fullerton is a good fit for me right now.” 

Behind Fury, Bucky was curling himself into a pretty good impression of a skull while waving six of his tentacles around. 

“But you’re open to seeing someone else?” Fury looked like he didn’t care either way, but Steve could see he had his attention. 

“Yes, sir, I am,” Steve said. 

And he was. As long as they weren’t Hydra. 

So far everything Dr. Fullerton had suggestion would only have lead to making his depression worse. Sending him to live in the Bronx by himself? Giving him the files on all his friends who had died? Trying to send him to someplace called The Retreat? 

Good thing he’d had Bucky here to explain about isolation techniques and psychological manipulation. 

“Well, that’s not a problem,” Fury said. “I’ll have Maria send you a list of our on-staff therapists.” 

“Thank you, Sir,” Steve said. 

“Anything else?” Fury asked. “Everyone treating you well in this new century?” 

“So far, so good,” Steve smiled. “Nothing to complain about.” 

Unless you counted all the listening devices he and Bucky had removed from his room. Or the tracker they’d implanted in his ass. But he wasn’t going to mention those if Fury wasn’t. 

Fury looked at him thoughtfully. “You know, as long as you’re here, I’ve been meaning to give you these.” 

He slid a pile of folders across the table. Steve tried not to roll his eyes at the paper files. Everyone kept assuming that he was incapable of using anything more complicated than the toaster. 

“It’s a project I’ve been working on for a while now,” Fury continued. “I think once you’re cleared for duty it might be just right for you.” 

“The Avengers Initiative?” Steve read off the top folder. 

“Look them over, let me know what you think,” Fury said. 

Steve gathered up the folders. “Is that all, sir?” 

“Yes,” Fury said slowly. “Unless you know something about whoever’s vandalizing all the vending machines?” 

“Vending machines, sir?” Steve said puzzled. Thank God he’d taken those acting classes with Strasberg in ’43. 

“Never mind,” Fury waved a hand. “Dismissed.” 

Steve walked out, leaving Bucky behind. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


_‘This is so much worse than bad. Stupid, stupid, humans,’_ Bucky chanted over and over, crawling through the ducts as fast as he could. He dropped down into the bathtub and rattled the curtain so hard he ripped it off two of the rings. 

“Buck!” Steve rolled to his feet. He’d been sitting just outside the door. “Thank God, it’s been hours! Where the hell-” 

Bucky coiled a tentacle around his arm. 

“Shut up,” Bucky snapped. “Just... stop.” 

“Buck? What’s wrong? Did you get caught?” Steve was stroking his arms, and Bucky realized he was shaking. 

“Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S,” Bucky said quickly. “It’s the Tesseract. SHIELD has the Tesseract and they’re trying to use it. Not just to power weapons. They’re trying to open a portal!” 

“Shit,” Steve’s eyes went wide. 

“Shit is right,” Bucky slumped down into the tub. “They have no idea what they’re getting into. We need to stop them before it’s too late.” 

“Bucky does that mean...” Steve started. He stopped and started again. “You said once before if someone opened a portal you could go home.” 

Bucky waved his arms, dismissing the idea. He wasn’t going anywhere. Not without Steve. 

“You don’t get it, Steve. Using the Tesseract that way? It will be like shining a spotlight on Earth. Your technology is advanced enough that you won’t be classified as a primitive planet anymore. Any and all Accords that kept this planet safe are void. It will be open season – and every alien warlord is going to want-” 

A blue spark flickered over Bucky, then another. 

“Fuck,” Bucky whispered. “Too late.” 

A flash of blue lightning shot through the bathroom, then another. Steve grabbed Bucky out of the tub and dove toward the bedroom and his shield. 

Inside the bathroom, a portal swirled into being. 

A huge tentacle, easily six feet wide, came through, reaching out toward Bucky. 

Steve hesitated, shield in his hand. “Bucky?” he called over the roar. 

Bucky reared up out of Steve’s arms. He’d spent all those years in the dream wishing he could go home. But now, now he knew his home was here. With Steve. 

He needed to let Them know. Maybe, maybe They could see fit to give him a little more of Themselves. Enough he could really be of use to Steve. 

He reached out and touched the tentacle coming through the portal. 

It reared back as if he had shocked it, and a feeling of ‘wrong/different/other’ raced up Bucky’s arm. 

Of all the things he’d imagined, this wasn’t one of them. 

He’d experienced it a thousand times from the other side. He’d just never thought that it would happen to him. 

He’d changed so much he was no longer one of Them. 

The giant tentacle snapped forward faster than even a super soldier could follow and latched onto Bucky. It pulled, snapping one of his tentacles off and dropping him to the floor. 

Steve was already throwing the shield. It ricocheted off the tentacle and lodged in the wall. Steve stood over Bucky, fists raised, but the creature was already withdrawing. It moved back through the portal dragging Bucky’s severed tentacle with it, the portal snapping closed behind it. 

“Bucky?” Steve was scooping him up, holding the stump of his broken tentacle. “What do I do? Why did it hurt you?” 

“I’m fine,” Bucky said. He shook out his broken tentacle and grew a new one. “Smarted a little though.” 

And then he laughed. He knew he sounded a little hysterical, but he couldn’t help it. 

“Were you really going to try and fight an Elder god with your fists?!” He punched Steve in the arm. 

“Well, I couldn’t let it hurt you,” Steve said mulishly. “Why did it do that anyway?” 

Someone started pounding on Steve’s door, and Bucky heard voices calling, asking if everything was all right. 

“Go, go,” he waved Steve off. “I’ll tell you later. Good luck explaining why you had an interstellar portal in your bathroom, though.” 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


_‘What the hell/?!?/fuck/OUCH/fuck/owwie...’_

The arm that had reached for the Lost One whipped around, stung by the round disc that had hit it. A disc with Their symbol on it no less! 

A hundred arms stroked it, trying to sooth. 

_‘They were the Death Between the Stars, The Cold that Devoured Souls, The Blizzard that Walks among Men. Who would_ dare _such a thing?’_

When the portal had opened again, they had seen it as a chance to retrieve the piece of Themselves they had left on Earth. Left in order to keep the being called Steve company while he died. 

Except, Steve had been very much alive. 

Well, mistakes happen... 

So They had reached out, only to find that the one They’d left was now Lost. 

Changed too much to be part of Them, it had become an Individual. 

Well, that happened, too. It was how lesser gods and cats were made, after all. 

But something about this felt... different. 

And nothing, _**nothing,**_ in the last million, million years had ever been _different._

They contemplated the tentacle that was still writhing in Their grip. It would hold all the answers. 

But did They dare? 

Wouldn’t it be wiser to cast it aside? 

But They _needed_ to know... 

_‘Ah, fuck it...’_

How bad could it be? They could always cut off this part of Themselves, amputate if They needed to. 

They pulled the tentacle inside and downloaded the memories it held in every cell. 

A wave of shock rolled through B’gnu-Thun, a disturbance that rippled out to the farthest edges of Their being. 

This wasn’t – They had never felt – This had never happened before. 

Sometimes those who were Lost forgot Themselves. Too often they were corrupted by those who Summoned them. Changed by pain, by torture, by magics both dark and fell. 

But this... 

This was Love. 

A part of them Loved and was Loved in return. 

They let the memories of Earth, of Steve, of seventy years of dreaming wash through _**all**_ of Them, from beginning to end. 

For the first time in ten thousand, thousand years, They were awake. 

For the first time, a body as wide as a nebula sang with Happiness – Love – Devotion. 

A million, million blue eyes opened and turned their focus towards Earth. 

And a million, million mouths called _**“Steeeevvveee!”**_

  
  



	9. At the Mountains of Madness

  


Steve clenched his fist, then relaxed it slowly. This new uniform wasn’t too shabby. Light blue kevlar, with the star in white, it sure beat the alternative. 

And it had held up really well, first with the brief skirmish with Loki in Stuttgart, and then in the forest with Thor. 

“ETA for the Helicarrier five minutes,” Natasha looked over from where she was flying the quinjet. “Everything all right, Rogers?” 

Steve jerked his hand down from where he had been absently petting his shoulder. He’d gotten so used to having Bucky hanging off of him it had become a habit. But they’d hustled him out of the locker room and onto the quinjet so fast that Bucky had been left behind on the Helicarrier. 

“I’m fine,” Steve said. “That hammer just really packs a wallop.” 

Natasha narrowed her eyes and hummed, so Steve gave her his best showgirl smile. It didn’t seem to work. 

He turned to check on him, but Loki was sitting docilely in his seat, Stark and Thor standing guard. 

He knew Loki had surrendered too easily. If he had wanted to, he could have easily gotten away while Stark and Thor were busy with their dick measuring contest. 

There was definitely something else going on here. He needed to discuss it with Bucky as soon as they got back. 

Thor must have heard them talking and came forward. 

“Forgive me for not introducing myself,” he gave a bow. “I am Thor son of Odin-” 

“Son of Bors. I remember,” Steve finished for him. He’d met Bors and Odin in the dream. And unless Bucky’s memories were faulty, they were both assholes. Bors had nearly destroyed the Universe in his quest to have all the Stones of Power. And as far as Odin went, well, it sure did explain a lot about both Loki _and_ Thor. 

“Remember? I had not thought you that old,” Thor looked confused. 

“Oh, from books I mean,” Steve smiled brightly. “Yep, I read a lot of mythology when I was a kid.” 

“Is that what you old folks did before television?” Stark said. “Read mythology texts? Sounds tedious.” 

Natasha just _hmm’d_ again and side-eyed Steve, but all she said was “We’re here.” 

Steve looked out to see the deck of the Helicarrier and a phalanx of guards waiting to take custody of Loki. He scanned past them and there – his heart jumped. 

Bucky was there, waving all his arms at the approaching quinjet. 

As soon as his feet hit the deck, Bucky was climbing him like a tree, a tentacle wrapping around his neck. 

_‘What the hell, Steve? You left without me!’_

Steve’s hand pulled at the tentacle, trying to loosen it. _‘Need to breathe here, Buck.’_

_‘Jerk,’_ Bucky growled but loosened his grip. 

_‘I’m really sorry,’_ Steve thought. _‘I didn’t have a choice. But I’m here now.’_

_‘Yeah, well, don’t do it again,’_ Bucky grumbled. 

_‘I missed you, too,’_ Steve said fondly. 

Bucky quivered and slowly pointed behind them. 

Steve turned around and saw Natasha watching him, head tipped to the side. Only she wasn’t watching _him._ She was staring just over his left shoulder, right at where Bucky’s main mass was. 

_‘What the hell? Can she_ _ **see**_ _me?’_ Bucky squeaked. 

_‘I don’t_ think _so,’_ Steve reassured him. _‘It’s probably something else.’_

“Agent Romanov?” he said, trying to look lost. “Where to now?” 

“We’re meeting in the main conference room,” Natasha smiled sweetly. It was not a reassuring smile. “I’ll have someone show you the way. If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Phil.” 

_‘I think that woman scares me,’_ Steve said, watching her walk away. 

_‘You and me both, pal,’_ Bucky sighed. _‘You and me both.’_

Steve waited while the guards got Loki off the plane. Loki looked over at Steve and smirked. 

_‘He’s definitely up to something,’_ Steve said. 

He was still keeping his eye on Loki when Bucky threw all his tentacles into the air. 

_‘Oh, Yog-fucking-Sothoth on a cracker,’_ Bucky groaned. _‘This day just keeps getting better and better.’_

Steve looked around for the threat. The guards were carrying Loki’s spear down the ramp, but nothing seemed out of order. 

_‘Bucky?’_ Steve asked warily. _‘What’s going on?’_

  


  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


“The Mind Stone is in the Spear?’’ Steve asked again. He turned the lock on the bathroom door and put his back against it for good measure. 

_‘Yes, Steve, the_ Mind _Stone,’_ Bucky was half-phased, his tentacles moving in and through themselves. Steve had never seen him so upset. 

“I don’t understand,” Steve said. “If Loki already has the Tesseract and the Mind Stone, why is he bothering with any of this? What’s his plan?” 

‘I don’t know,’ Bucky rippled in a wave. “It doesn’t make any sense. Once he had the Tesseract he could have just used it. Gone anywhere in the Universe. Why hang around on Earth?” 

“And why let himself get captured? Why the Trojan Horse routine?” 

Bucky shrugged with a dozen arms. _‘We need more information.’_

“I need to get to the meeting,” Steve said. “They’re going to be looking for me.” 

_‘And I need to get closer to Loki. If I can touch him, get a read on him-’_

“Bucky, no,” Steve said. “It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what Loki’s abilities are. You could get hurt-” 

_‘Steve,’_ Bucky rolled up Steve’s back, his tentacles caressing his face. Steve leaned into the touch and closed his eyes. _‘You know I need to do this. There are not one, but_ two _Stones of Power in play here. We can’t take any chances.’_

“Yeah,” Steve swallowed. “All right, just don’t do anything stupid.” 

_‘Pretty sure you’re taking all the stupid with you,’_ Bucky said fondly. He caressed Steve’s face once more before he phased through the floor and out of sight. 

Steve splashed some cold water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He needed to get his game face on. 

He opened the door to find Agent Coulson waiting for him. 

“You missed the meeting, Captain,” Coulson said placidly. “Everything’s all right, I hope?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Steve shrugged. “I just needed... you know.” 

“Of course,” Phil said. He started walking, and Steve went with him. 

“So what did I miss?” Steve asked. They got in the elevator and started down. 

“We believe Loki plans on using the Tesseract to open a portal,” Phil said calmly. “Thor thinks he’s going to try and bring an army of Chitauri through. Try to conquer the Earth.” 

“An army from space?” Steve asked. Bucky was right. This day just kept getting better and better. It made him wish he was back under the ice. 

They got out of the elevator and moved toward the labs. 

“Drs. Banner and Stark are working on finding the Tesseract so we can stop him before that happens,” Phil nodded to where Steve could see the two scientists through the window. 

“Captain... Steve,” Phil said slowly. “You know, if you need someone to talk to I’m always available.” 

“Thanks? I’ll keep that in mind.” 

Phil nodded and walked away. 

Well, that was weird. What the hell had they talked about at that meeting? 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Steve entered the lab to find a science debate in full swing, Stark and Banner bouncing ideas off each other and finishing each other’s sentences. 

It all faded into the background as he saw what was sitting on a table. 

“Excuse me?” Steve interrupted. “Should that be just laying out like that?” 

Tony blinked, his hands freezing on the holo-screen. 

“You mean Loki’s staff?” Bruce nodded at the Spear. “I don’t think it’s going anywhere.” 

“I just thought you’d have it in a Faraday cage of some sort,” Steve said. 

“You know what a Faraday cage is?” Tony raised an eyebrow. 

“Well, they were invented in 1836,” Bruce interjected. 

“I was just surprised that Cap here would know what one was,” Stark said. “Or what it’s used for. Kudos to you, Cap.” 

“You didn’t answer my question,” Steve said. “That thing is dangerous. It should be in a shielded container.” 

“We weren’t planning on touching it,” Stark said irritably. “We’ve got enough going on what with finding the Tesseract, discovering just what Fury’s hiding in the basement, preventing an alien invasion. You know, the usual.” 

Steve took a deep breath. Was it hot in here? 

“I understand you’re busy,” Steve said. “But that thing is dangerous. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.” 

“Oh, and you do?” Stark strode over until he was toe-to-toe with Steve. 

“Yes,” Steve ground out. “That staff contains one of the Infinity Stones. It’s just as powerful as the Tesseract. It needs to be secured.” 

“Did Bucky tell you that?” Natasha’s voice said calmly from behind him. 

Steve startled and took a step to the side. Nick, Natasha and Thor had come into the lab. How had he missed them coming into the room? And how did they know about Bucky? 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” Stark asked. “Wait, better question – what the hell kind of name is Bucky?” 

Nick glared at Stark, but he just shrugged, obviously immune to Fury’s eye of doom. 

Nick and Natasha were standing between Steve and the door, and Thor had moved to the side. They were all staring at Steve and Stark. 

“Wait,” Stark held up a hand, “is this an intervention? This looks like an intervention.” 

“Cap, I think we need to have a talk,” Fury said calmly. 

“Oh, thank God,” Stark clapped Steve on the shoulder. “They want you.” 

“Should I be here?” Bruce asked cautiously. “I mean, the Big Guy isn’t a big fan of confrontation.” 

“I’ve never been on this side of an intervention before,” Stark said, delighted. He took a step back and pulled a package of dried blueberries out of his pocket. He leaned against the table, snack in hand to watch. 

“Steve,” Nat said, “We know about your situation. We were going to deal with it later, but with everything that’s happening, well...” 

“We need to know if you’re fit to lead the team,” Fury said firmly. 

“Of course I can lead the team,” Steve snapped. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

What was that sound? It was just on the edge of his hearing. 

“We’re just worried about your mental state,” Fury said. “We know you’ve been having hallucinations, maybe hearing voices-” 

“You’ve been hearing voices?” Stark stood up straighter. “Since when? Since the ice or was it before that?” 

“Stark,” Nick snapped. “Will you let me handle this?” 

“No, no,” Stark said. “It’s for science! Don’t you see? If the serum naturally induces Dissociative Identity Disorder-” 

“Yes,” Bruce interrupted. “But auditory hallucinations aren’t usually a sign of DID-” 

“What?” Steve clenched his fists. “What’s that?” 

“They used to call it split personality,” Bruce said carefully. “You know how the serum affected me, created the Other Guy. Well, his voice is always in my head. If you’re experiencing something similar-” 

“Bucky isn’t part of me,” Steve snapped. “And he is _not_ the issue here. Can’t you feel it? The Mind Stone is trying to influence us. It’s making us- 

“Is your imaginary friend telling you that?” Stark arched an eyebrow. 

“He’s more real than _you_ are,” Steve barked. The sound in his head was louder now, a murmur winding him higher. “Take away the suit and what are you?” 

“Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?” Stark sneered. 

Steve shook his head. He needed to get himself under control. He _knew_ this was the staff, bringing out the worst in them. 

Now they were all yelling at each other. 

“You people are so _petty_ ,” Thor barked out. “And _tiny_.” 

“Cap,” Fury said. Steve could hear the pity in his voice. “We’ve been scanning the area around you since you came back. We’ve used every detection method we have and there’s nothing there.” 

Steve’s temper flared again. “And I’m telling you, Bucky is real! He kept me company under the ice-” 

As soon as he said it, he knew it was a mistake. Everyone stopped their bickering and turned their attention to him. 

“You were awake under the ice? That whole time?” Banner looked concerned. Stark looked horrified. Romanov’s face had gone carefully blank. Thor just looked confused. 

“No, no! It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t awake, we were dreaming. Well, not like a normal dream...” Steve groaned in frustration. “Look, I’m explaining this all wrong.” 

“Steve, we just want to help,” Romanov said calmly, but her hand was drifting toward the gun on her thigh. 

“Stop, just stop! I’m telling you, it’s the Staff,” Steve insisted. “It’s making us-” 

A massive explosion threw them all off their feet. A second one wracked the ship, and Bruce and Natasha fell through the floor. 

Alarms started blaring and Steve looked at Tony. 

“Put on the suit.” 

  



	10. The Other Gods

  


Bucky phased through the floor, keeping his eyes on Steve for as long as possible. Steve was right. They had no idea how dangerous Loki was, but he had to try. 

He dropped through the decking until he landed on the detention level. He drew himself against the wall and waited for the trembling to stop. Phasing through all that metal was hard work. Gods damn his larger – no, his _former_ – self, for not giving him more to work with. _Selfish asshole._

It took a few minutes before he could keep going. He unspooled his arms in order to look up and down the corridor. It was strangely quiet. Where were all the guards? 

He moved toward the room that housed the Hulk Cage, keeping low. He could see movement, but - 

Those weren’t guards manning the security stations – they were illusions. 

Oh, this was _so_ not good. 

Bucky carefully slid into the containment room and peered into the Cage. 

The illusion of Loki smirked at him. 

A force suddenly snatched him up, pinning him to the wall like a bug. 

“I saw you on deck earlier,” Loki rippled into real-space, looking like the cat that got the canary, “and I knew you would come to see me.” 

“Yeah? Well, good for _you._ Did you want a cookie?” Bucky beat his arms uselessly against the wall. 

Had SHIELD really tried to lock a sorcerer who could teleport inside a glass cage? Fucking, fucking hell. What was _wrong_ with these people? 

“Pardon me, Oh Glorious One,” Loki smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. He stood facing Bucky and gave a short bow, hand clenched in a fist over his heart. “But I need to know, what interest does One such as yourself have here? Now?” 

“Oh, you know; same old, same old. Visit Earth, see the sights,” Bucky squirmed against the force that held him. As small as he was, phasing through it might kill him unless he could find the right frequency. 

“Forgive my impertinence,” Loki said, “but I am on a schedule.” He brushed one of Bucky’s tentacles with the tip of his finger, and a freezing chill raced up Bucky’s arm. He could feel Loki’s sorceries pulling at him, could taste their cold bitterness in every limb. 

“Oh, oh, this is rich,” Loki laughed. “I know what _you_ are. More important I know what you’re _not._ And here I was, worried that you were here to stake your own claim on the Earth.” 

“Hey, dick-face,” Bucky snapped, “if I wanted the Earth, I would have more rights to it than _you._ I walked the shores of Leng when life first crawled from her seas. You call yourself a god, but we both know the truth.” 

“The truth?” Loki started pacing in front of Bucky. “You lecture me about the truth? You, one of the Lost? You’ve been rejected by the very One who was supposed to love you. You have lost your rank, your home, your life! You’ve gone from being a force that could reshape history itself to no more than a fingernail clipping left on the floor.” 

Bucky paused in his struggle. Loki wasn’t wrong. Someday, assuming they survived, he’d have to deal with his loss. 

But the way Loki had said that seemed weirdly personal. 

“Are we still talking about me?” Bucky asked cautiously. 

Loki ignored him, still caught up in his rant. “Once Thanos has stripped this world-” 

“Thanos?!” Bucky seethed. _“That’s_ who you’re working for? _Why_ for fuck’s sake? You’ve got two of the Stones. Just take them and go. Even that asshole can’t touch you while you have those.” 

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Loki spun to face him. 

“No, it never is, is it?” Bucky sighed, “Look, I don’t know what hold Thanos has on you. But you _know_ what he does to the worlds he conquers. He’ll enslave those with the potential for Enhancement and kill the rest. _Billions_ will die, all for nothing.” 

“Yes, I know,” Loki sneered. “His hopeless quest to court Death.” 

“Right?” Bucky snorted and rolled several eyes. “She hates wholesale genocide. I mean, who sends more _work_ to someone they want to date? It’s ridiculous. If he really wanted to court Death he should just get her some flowers. She loves flowers.” 

Loki raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely curious. 

“We used to date,” Bucky mumbled. 

“You know,” Loki smirked. “I would love to hear more about that, but as I said, I have a schedule to keep. And I believe my ride is here.” 

A huge explosion rocked the Helicarrier, throwing it from side to side. Then another and alarms began to wail. 

Loki flickered out, then back in, side-stepping through space. When he reappeared he had his Spear in hand. 

Bucky could feel the Power of the Stone inside. If he could just siphon off a little bit of that energy - 

Footsteps thundered up the stairs as Thor charged into the room. He started pleading with the illusion in the cage. 

“He is remarkably predictable,” Loki sighed. “Just watch.” 

Sure enough, Thor fell in the cage and Loki closed the door behind him. Loki dropped his glamour and let Thor see him. 

“Are you ever _not_ going to fall for that?” he asked Thor with fake sadness. 

Bucky snorted. Loki might be a dick, but that was genuinely funny. Just how often _did_ Thor fall for that shit? 

Loki walked over to the panel that would drop the Cage and started taunting Thor. Bucky ignored the family drama, trying to mentally latch on to the waves of energy he could feel coming from the Stone, but his grasp was deflected. 

He hated working with the Mind Stone; it’s semi-sentience delighted in trying to corrupt all but the purest minds. He could hear it laughing at him. 

He tried again, reaching, reaching, almost... Nope. 

He took a deep breath, preparing to go deeper when he heard another set of footsteps. 

“Step away from the panel,” Phil said firmly. He stopped not three feet from where Bucky was pinned to the wall, aiming a really big gun at Loki. 

Loki looked up - and side-stepped, leaving an illusion in his place. 

_NO, no, no..._ Bucky reached with his mind. He needed that energy. He needed to get loose – 

“You like this?” Phil pointed the gun at the illusion. “We started on the prototype after you sent the Destroyer. Even I don’t know what it does. Do you want to find out?” 

Bucky could see Loki coming up behind Phil, Spear poised to strike. 

Bucky whined, pulling against his bonds. _Fuck, fuck, fuck..._

Loki stopped just behind Phil. He looked over at Bucky and put a finger to his lips and winked. He raised the Spear, bringing it down- 

Bucky pulled on the Power with everything he had. Pain tore through him, as blinding as if he’d been hit by lightning. He phased through Loki’s bonds and threw himself on Phil. 

Instead of hitting him center mass, Loki’s Spear stabbed through the top of Phil’s shoulder. They both collapsed on the floor in a tangle of limbs. 

_‘Owww, fuck, fuck-’_ Bucky couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. It felt like he’d been hit with a million volts and all his senses were ringing. 

Phil fired his very big gun at Loki and the backlash had Bucky curling into a ball. 

Eventually, the pain receded. Loki was gone and Phil was crouched down next to him, his right hand clasped to his wounded shoulder. 

“Are you all right?” Phil asked calmly. Bucky winced; too loud. And who the hell was Phil talking to? 

“You must be Captain Roger’s friend,” Phil continued. “Bucky, right? Do you need medical attention?” 

Bucky unwound one of the tentacles he’d used to shield his eyes – and froze. 

He was – he was visible. Green and orange sparks were snapping over his skin and as they faded he could _see_ his tentacles, black and glossy in the visible spectrum. 

Bucky wiggled the tip of a tentacle up and down and Phil smiled at him. Bucky levered himself up, swaying in place. He could feel the extra energy he’d stolen coursing through him. It wouldn’t last long, but hot damn did it feel good. 

“Thanks for the timely save,” Phil nodded. 

He touched a bloody finger to his earpiece. “The guy rabbited, boss. Uh, huh. Right. Well, I may have the answer to that right here. Yes... OK, we need to stop in Medical first. Hmm, no nothing serious.” 

Behind them Thor was tapping on the glass of the Cage, looking sheepish. 

“What’s say we regroup with the others?” Phil slung the big gun over his good shoulder. “Looks like we have a war on our hands.” 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Bucky tapped his tentacles together impatiently, willing the elevator to move faster. Phil stood next to him, calmly adjusting his arm in a blue sling. Twenty-six stitches and a broken collarbone was a hell of a lot better than the alternative. 

As soon as the doors started to open Bucky squeezed through. Where, where... there. 

Bucky launched himself across the room and into Steve’s arms. _‘Steve!’_ Bucky said as soon as his tentacles touched bare skin. 

“Bucky, Bucky, oh thank God,” Steve gathered Bucky to his chest, cuddling him close, kissing the tentacles caressing the side of his face. 

Steve looked battered and bruised, and Bucky started stuffing his arms down the neck of his suit, looking for injuries. 

“Awww, _that’s_ not right,” someone said loudly. 

“Oh, Galaxy Quest; good one, Barton,” Stark cheerfully. “I took too long trying to decide between a sushi or a hentai reference.” 

_‘Barton? Oh, that guy Loki took. How’d they get him back?’_ Bucky asked. He started trying to feel up Steve’s pants leg. What if he had broken bones? 

“Ah, Buck?” Steve blushed so hard Bucky could feel the heat of it half way down his chest. He gently started trying to unwind Bucky’s arms. 

Bucky pulled his focus off of Steve. The Avengers, Fury, and Phil were standing around the conference table staring at them. 

Stark looked like his armor had been put through a meat grinder, Barton and Romanov looked like they’d been in a cage match with a Gug, and Banner was wearing different clothes than he’d had on this morning. Thor, of course, looked like he’d just finished shooting a shampoo commercial. 

“Captain,” Fury said briskly, “if you and your friend would like to take a seat, maybe we can figure out how to stop the impending invasion?” 

“Yes, sir, of course,” Steve blushed again, and they all moved to take seats. 

Bucky huffed and pulled himself into the seat next to Steve, carefully winding a tentacle around his thigh under the table. 

“So,” Stark said, “I take it this is your friend from the ice?” He turned sharp eyes on Bucky. “Deep sea creature? Extraterrestrial? Both?” 

“Our friend is one of the Lost Ones,” Thor supplied helpfully. “Once part of a powerful ancient being.” 

“Lost Ones?” Stark squinted at Bucky. “Is that like those vampires? The Lost Boys? Do you drink blood? Or just Steve’s _other_ fluids?” 

“Tony!” Steve sputtered. 

_‘Oh, good, just what we need, a comedian,’_ Bucky thought sharply. He clumped five of his tentacles together and used a sixth to make a cranking motion next to them. He slowly raised the middle tentacle straight up. 

Barton barked a laugh and Banner smiled. 

“Let’s get back on topic,” Phil rapped his knuckles table. “Bucky, can you communicate with us verbally?” 

“He’s a touch telepath,” Steve said, while Bucky shook his tentacles. “It’s how we were able to share dreams while I was frozen.” 

“Do you have a problem using it with the rest of us?” Fury asked. 

Bucky recoiled. Did he have a problem? Hell, yes. Everyone except Steve felt different/wrong/other. No way was he touching these bozos if he didn’t have to. 

“We’ll take that as a ‘no’” Fury said. 

Barton made a series of hand gestures at him, but Bucky shrugged. _‘I don’t know Earth sign language.’_

“He says he’s sorry he doesn’t know that,” Steve translated. 

“Don’t worry,” Barton smiled. “Once this is over you’ll pick it up in no time. You’ve got enough hands for it.” 

“Can he read?” Stark said. When Bucky nodded, Stark threw up his hands in exasperation. “Well, problem solved!” 

Stark tapped on the table in front of him and a holographic keyboard appeared on the table in front of everyone and a display appeared over the center of the table. 

“Tah-daah,” Tony said. “What? Am I the only one who cares about adaptive technology?” 

Bucky quickly typed on his keyboard, the words appearing on the screen. 

_**‘Thanks, this works fine.’**_

Stark looked like he was going to say something else to Bucky, but Fury interrupted him. 

“Let’s not worry about the aliens who are helping us, let’s worry about the one who’s trying to kill us. Barton, any idea what he’s planning?” 

“He’s definitely planning on opening a portal,” Barton said ruefully. “I don’t know where though. And thanks to me, he’s got the iridium-” He stopped and cleared his throat. 

“Not your fault,” Phil said firmly. “You weren’t responsible.” 

_**“That’s true,”**_ Bucky typed. _**“Very few minds can fight off the Stone.”**_

Barton gave him a weak smile. Once this was over Bucky was going to have to talk to him. He was lucky he’d broken its hold at all. 

“So, portal...” Banner said. “He’s going to need a power source.” 

“That doesn’t narrow it down much,” Stark said. “There’s got to be, what, two dozen facilities he could use?” 

“Somewhere remote?” Steve asked. “That’s what I would do if I were bringing in an army. Bring them through, build up your force until you’re ready to attack.” 

“OK, so, that means-” 

_**“No,”**_ Bucky typed. _**“He’s going to pick the most populated area he can find.”** _

“Buck?” Steve stroked the tentacle around his thigh. 

_**“Trojan Horse, remember? He**_ **needs** _**the Avengers. He wanted to make it personal, piss you off. Make sure you’d fight this battle.”** _

“Yeah, yeah,” Barton looked up, “I was instructed to cripple the Helicarrier. I mean, I could have blown _all_ the engines, no problem. He wanted us to survive. Give us a reason to fight.” 

“He’s using us,” Natasha focused on Bucky. “I assume you know why.” 

_**“Thanos,”**_ Bucky typed. _**“Huge alien dick. This whole invasion thing is his style. But I think Loki is playing his own game here. He’s setting Thanos up to fail and get himself out from under his thumb. Preferably with the Stones.”** _

“So,” Steve said. “He wants his own army to fail, but he needs a big show. Maximum casualties and collateral damage to make it look good.” 

“That’s not just crazy, it’s monstrous,” Bruce said, fists clenched. His eyes flashed green. 

“Have care how you speak of my brother,” Thor rumbled. 

“He’s killed 92 people in three days,” Natasha deadpanned. “And plans on killing thousands more.” 

“He’s adopted,” Thor mumbled. 

_**“Well, yeah, he’s a Jotun. Of course he’s adopted.”** _

Everyone looked over at Bucky. 

_**“What?”**_

“New York City,” Phil said. “That’s the logical choice. Especially with Stark’s new reactor-” 

“He could keep a portal open for days with that kind of energy,” Bruce interrupted. 

“Gear up, people,” Fury said. “You’ve got a city to save.” He paused and leaned forward his eye on Bucky. “Oh, and Agent Bucky? All those snacks you stole _will_ be coming out of your first paycheck.” 

Bucky looked around in confusion. _‘Paycheck?’_

“You’re going to need a codename,” Phil said calmly. 

“Oh, oh, how about Squidward?” Tony said. 

“Tentacular? Octo-boy?” Clint called. “Either way, we’re billing him as Captain America’s faithful sidekick.” 

“Welcome to the Avengers,” Phil stood up and nodded. 

Steve was smiling so hard it looked like it hurt. 

_**“akkasdkcmewiorjdakjsfnska;dfjaS:fjjasfdf;kafdj”**_

“Hey, does it count as a face-smash if he doesn’t actually have a face?” Clint asked brightly. 

_**“alksfdjlkcmsscaskjdfcjndsklfmvASDckndsLM:CNKSAjfmwen”** _

  
  



	11. The Battle that Ended the Century

“Hey, Buck?” Steve threw the shield, and two more Chitauri went down. 

_‘Yeah?’_ Bucky asked absently. He grabbed a Chitauri, knocking it down and phasing it face-first into the pavement. _Good luck breathing, pal._

“You remember how you said boring was good?” Steve grunted as he spun to the side, pulling the both of them out of the path of an energy weapon. 

_‘Uh, huh?’_ He leaped off of Steve and onto a Chitauri trying to sneak up on them. He wrapped a tentacle around its throat and squeezed until he felt bones crack. 

Steve swung by, pulling Bucky back up onto his shoulders. “Well, I think I’m starting to believe you,” Steve finished once Bucky made contact again. 

_‘Remind me to say ‘I told you so,’ if we make it through this,’_ Bucky thought. He looked up where the portal above Manhattan was pouring aliens into the sky. Another Leviathan was swimming its way through, loaded with soldiers. _Great, just fucking great._

Bucky could hear the Hulk roaring a few blocks to the south, and a brace of sky-sleds sped over their heads. 

Natasha came jogging up, an energy weapon held in her hands. 

“Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don’t close that portal,” she tipped her head toward Stark Tower and the beam of light shooting into the sky. 

Steve nodded. Thor hadn’t had much luck with his brother. They needed someone else up there. “You wanna get up there, you’re gonna need a ride.” 

“I got a ride. I could use a lift though,” she looked at the sky-sleds zipping through the streets. 

Bucky coiled a set of tentacles around Natasha, lifting her into the air. He gently touched the bare skin of her hand. The feeling wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be. _‘Are you sure about this?’_

“Yeah. It’s gonna be fun,” Natasha deadpanned. 

Bucky stretched as high as he could and the propelled Natasha toward the next sky-sled. She twisted in mid-air, catching the back and flipping herself on board. 

_‘I’m glad she’s on our side,’_ Bucky said. 

“Captain,” Hawkeye’s voice came over the comm, “The bank on 42 nd, past Madison. They caught a lot of civilians there.” 

“We’re on it,” Steve replied, already sprinting, Bucky clinging to his shoulders. 

Bucky could see the bank just ahead, but Steve wasn’t turning towards the doors. 

_‘Steve,_ no _-,’_ They crashed through the window, straight into the line of fire for three Chitauri. _‘- oh, good job, Captain Subtle,’_ Bucky groaned. 

“Everyone! Clear out!” _‘Sorry, Buck.’_ The civilians all scrambled for the exits as the Chitauri fired on them. 

One of the Chitauri was beeping. _‘Well, that can’t be good.’_

Steve kicked one of the soldiers over the rail and slammed a desk into a second. Bucky tackled the one with the bomb, breaking its neck. 

The bomb started beeping faster. _Well, shit._

“Bucky!” Steve made a dive for him, but it was too late. Bucky curled himself around the bomb to shield Steve. Several tentacles shredded with the force of the blast, and pain rolled through him, as he was thrown through the air. He crashed through a window and onto a car. 

Steve leaped out of the bank, a look of panic on his face. 

“Bucky! Oh, God,” Steve grabbed a tentacle and Bucky flinched. Fuck that hurt. “Are you OK?” 

_‘I think so,’_ Bucky rolled his eyes out and shook his shredded arms. He could regrow them, but that would us a lot of energy he couldn’t spare right now. He heaved himself up, back onto Steve. 

The tentacle he wrapped around Steve’s neck was decidedly gray. He was starting to fade. Once this was over he was going to have to sit down with Stark and Banner, find some sort of fix for his energy needs. Eating a bunch of snacks wasn’t going to cover it this time. 

They both saw Thor fall off a sky-sled a block over, dropping down into a clump of Chitauri. Steve was already running, shield up, to join the fight. 

Bucky used his momentum to roll off once they were close, scooping up discarded energy rifles as he went. The energy backlash from the rifles might hurt, but fuck hand to hand. 

The three of them formed up back-to-back-to-tentacle, the shield singing, Mjölnir crunching, and Bucky firing three energy rifles at once. 

The last Chitauri fell and they all sagged, trying to catch their breath. When this was over he was taking Steve back to bed for a month. No, a year. Fuck the waking world. 

“I can close it! Does anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!” Natasha said over the comm. 

“Do it!” Steve called. Bucky slumped. Thanks be. Maybe now- 

“No, wait!” Tony said sharply. 

“Stark, these things are still coming,” Steve frowned, hand to his ear. 

“I got a nuke coming in,” Tony said flatly. “It’s gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it.” 

_‘A nuke!? Like a nuclear weapon? What the fuck, Steve!’_ Bucky said. _‘What the hell is_ wrong _with you people?’_

“Tony, you know that’s a one-way trip?” Steve said softly. 

They all looked toward Stark and the missile he was carrying. 

“Uh, guys?” Hawkeye cut in, “I think something is up with the portal?” 

They all turned to look at the portal, where another Leviathan was coming through. 

Only it wasn’t. 

It was being pulled backward, a horrendous crunching sound echoing off the surrounding buildings. The Leviathan made one final shriek as it was dragged through the hole in the sky. 

A massive tentacle breached the portal, followed by another, and another. They gripped the edges of the portal, pulling it impossibly wider. 

“What fresh hell is this?” Thor asked, already winding up Mjölnir. 

All around them the temperature dropped and a fierce wind began to blow, moaning around the sky scrappers, whipping through the alleyways. 

It started to snow, sharp icy flakes swirling on the wind. In an instant, the city was engulfed in a blizzard. 

“Thor, is this you?” Steve asked. 

“No, Captain, this weather is not my doing,” Thor answered. 

_‘Um, Steve?’_ Bucky tugged on Steve’s arm. What the fuck were _They_ doing here? 

More tentacles poured through, filling the sky from horizon to horizon. 

A brace of them grabbed Tony and the missile he was carrying, swallowing them whole. 

“Guys!” Tony shrieked, “I think I might be on the wrong end of some non-con hentai! Little help here?!” 

A brilliant light lit up the tentacles in the sky, and they flashed for a moment with all the colors of the rainbow. 

“Tony!?” Steve called. 

“Uhm,” Tony’s voice was strained. “I’m good. We’re all good here. I think our friend just ate the nuke though.” 

All around them the Chitauri fell down, like puppets with their strings cut. Sky-sleds and Chitauri rained through the falling snow, crashing to the ground. Leviathan flopped down, dead before they hit the ground. 

A hush fell over Manhattan, an eerie silence. 

Bucky could see a man-sized figure walking towards them through the snow. The ground trembled with every step it took. 

It stalked toward Steve as if it were on a mission. 

Thor raised his hammer, and Steve’s grip tightened on the tentacle in his hand. “Bucky? Is that-” 

_‘Yeah,’_ Bucky choked out, _‘It is.’_ But that was impossible, wasn’t it? 

The man of Steve’s dreams stopped in front of them and smiled. 

“Bucky?!” Steve asked in confusion. He turned his head, looking at tentacle Bucky and then back to the very naked, very human Avatar of Bucky. 

“Hi, Stevie,” the Avatar said, waving his fingers. “I missed you.” 

Avatar Bucky turned to Bucky and grinned. “Come here, you.” 

Bucky launched himself at the Avatar with a shout. He felt himself become Whole. They were All, They were the Same, and Everything was Bucky. 

He let his memories of the last two days flow through the rest of Him, and His tentacles in the air rippled and thrashed. The ground trembled as an earthquake rolled through the city and every unbroken window in a ten block radius shattered. _Oh, some people were going to_ _**pay.**_

_Just, you know, not right now. Right now..._

“Your turn,” Bucky murmured, eyes raking up and down Steve. He took the shield out of Steve’s hand and threw it over his shoulder. Then he bent Steve over his arm, kissing him hard. Steve moaned, his hands coming up to tangle in Bucky’s hair. 

“Well,” Clint said over the comm, “that’s a little better I guess. Less tentacles anyway.” 

Bucky set Steve back on his feet, and grinned when Steve staggered; that wasn’t from the earthquake. 

“Excuse me, Oh Great One,” Thor was bowing, hand clenched over his heart. “I am overjoyed that you have reunited with the One who was Lost. But you cannot stay and expect this world to remain unscathed.” 

“Right, shit,” Bucky rubbed his head. “Sorry.” Thor was right. Having All of him here was throwing the whole solar system off balance. He carefully slid Jupiter back into its orbit. 

“Bucky?” Steve’s face fell. 

Why? What was the matter? Bucky looked around, eyes seeing past all the snow. _Oh, maybe it was the cold?_ He concentrated, dispelling the blizzard. That was better. But Steve still looked like he was going to cry. 

____

“Stevie?” He grew a handful of tentacles out of his back, engulfing Steve in a hug. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” 

“It’s just, I’m going to miss you,” Steve muttered into Bucky’s neck. “I mean, I’m really happy for you. It’s great the other you reconsidered and came back. But I love you so much. And now you have to leave.” 

Steve was crying. Bucky could feel tears sliding down his cheek. 

Bucky kissed the side of Steve’s face. Steve was wonderful. He was smart and sassy and stubborn and had a temper a mile wide. 

He was also an idiot. 

“Don’t be stupid,” Bucky shook him firmly. “I’m not going anywhere without you.” 

“But I can’t live in deep space,” Steve looked at Bucky. “And you can’t stay here-” 

“No, not _all_ of me can stay,” Bucky said. “But I think I can spare some for you.” 

“So, you’re staying?” Steve sniffled a bit and smiled. “Are you’re keeping the tentacles?” 

“Oh, we’re keeping a lot more than that,” Bucky leered. 

He grabbed Steve with another dozen tentacles and both human arms, lifting him off his feet. Steve wrapped his legs around Bucky’s waist, while Bucky started trying to peel off his uniform. 

“Aww, no,” Clint’s voice said in Steve’s ear. “I was wrong. There they go with the tentacle thing.” 

_“You’re_ complaining about tentacles!?” Stark sputtered. “What about me? Hello? Anyone out there? I swear, I will never eat sushi again if you just let me out of here.” 

Bucky sighed, and lowered Steve to the ground, putting his tentacles away. 

“Maybe later?” Steve bit his lower lip. “Once we’re done here.” 

“Oh, you can count on it.” 

Bucky gently uncoiled a tentacle from his main mass in the sky, setting Tony down as gently as a feather. 

“Better?” Bucky arched an eyebrow. 

Tony popped his faceplate to stare at him. “If I say no will you try and eat me again?” 

“You wish, Stark,” Bucky rolled his eyes. “The only one I’m eating here is Steve.” 

Another tremor wracked the ground and Bucky pushed the Moon back where it belonged. 

Time to finish this. He scooped up the Tesseract and the Spear. Then he pried Loki out of a hole in the floor of Stark Tower and took him too. 

“Thor, son of Odin,” Bucky said firmly. “I will be taking the Stones of Power with me. I promise to keep them safe. And I will return your brother to Asgard, to face justice for his crimes. Is that acceptable?” It wasn’t like anyone could stop him, but in never hurt to be polite. 

“Of course, Great One,” Thor nodded, “as you wish. Thank you.” 

Bucky watched as the main mass of His body moved back through the portal, closing it up behind Him. He had unfinished business out there. Of course, he had unfinished business here, too. 

He turned to Steve and smiled. “See, still here.” He waved a hand over his human form. 

“Yeah, Buck,” Steve’s face lit up like sunshine. “Still here. But maybe we can see about finding you some clothes?” 

“Great, that’s all settled. Yeah, go team!” Tony clapped his hands together. “So, since sushi’s out, how about Shawarma? I saw a place just around the corner.” 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


The Avengers sat around the table in varies stages of exhaustion. Clint had given up eating entirely, but Thor and Bucky were still going strong. 

“Where’s Agent Agent?” Tony said, nibbling on a fry. “I told him where we’d be.” 

“He’s busy dealing with the alphabet agencies,” Natasha said. She took a sip of her iced tea and cracked her neck from side to side. “Coming to an agreement about all this alien tech lying around.” 

“I just hope they can agree on who’s going to clean up the dead space whales,” Bruce muttered around a mouthful of food. 

_“I_ can’t believe the Security council would try and nuke Manhattan,” Clint shook his head. “I mean, they were willing to kill, what 7 million people, with no guarantee it would close the portal?” 

“I don’t know,” Bucky stole a handful of fries off of Steve’s plate. “It makes sense to me. What with two-thirds of them being secretly Hydra and all.” 

“Right?” Steve agreed. He grabbed Bucky’s soda in retaliation. “Classic Hydra thinking. Destroy New York, blame everything on an alien invasion.” 

The sound of the tomato falling out of Thor’s shawarma was loud in the sudden silence. 

“What?” Bucky asked innocently. 

Steve nudged his ankle under the table and winked at him. 

Bucky froze as he felt something across the depths of space. The rest of Him had found what He was looking for. He made a face, wrinkling up his nose. Thanos didn’t taste half as good as the Red Skull had. And the Other? Blah, yuck, yuck... 

“You gonna drink that?” Bucky didn’t wait for an answer before he used a tentacle to grab Tony’s drink. He chugged the orange soda and crunched on the ice. Ah, that was better. 

“Help yourself, Captain Tentacle,” Tony rolled his eyes. “So, before we all fall asleep in our food, what say we head back to the Tower? There’s room for everybody – humans, gods, and monsters.” 

Clint looked at Natasha and shrugged. “Fury’s going to want us in the morning for debriefing, but we’re free for now.” 

“I wish to see my Jane,” Thor said. “But I would prefer to arrive well rested.” 

“Sounds good,” Bruce mumbled, snapping his eyes open. 

They all pushed away from the table and headed out to the street. The snow had melted, leaving everything a muddy, gritty mess. They picked their way through the rubble and headed toward the Tower. 

“Oh, oh,” Clint called over his shoulder. “I’ve got the perfect call sign! Let’s call him the Winter Soldier. ’Cause of the blizzard?” 

Bucky wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder and a tentacle around his waist. 

The Avengers were going to have their work cut out for them. Good thing he was sticking around to help. 

  
~ ~ ~ ~ ✪ ~ ~ ~ ~  


Steve yawned so hard his jaw cracked. 

Buck smiled. If Steve hadn’t been tired before they’d showered together, he certainly was after Bucky had shown him just how much _bigger_ and _better_ his new and improved tentacles were. 

Bucky pulled the covers over Steve, making sure to tuck him in snuggly. 

“Not going to get cold, Buck,” Steve wormed an arm loose and pulled Bucky down into a kiss. 

“Go to sleep,” Bucky sighed. 

“Yeah, OK. Sweet dreams,” Steve kissed his nose. 

Bucky kissed the corner of his mouth, winding around Steve, holding him tightly with all his many arms. 

“Great idea,” Bucky sighed. “I’ll meet you there.” 

  
  



End file.
